Family
by Cubismus
Summary: Harvey Specter doesn't care about anybody or at least he thought so. But when he accidentally hits a 14-year old boy with his car, his life is turned up-side down. Kid-Fic. Fluff.
1. Chapter 1

Hi!

This is my first fanfiction for Suits! I hope you like it. A thousand of thanks to my beta reader AoiLegend!

Have fun reading it. Updates will come regularly.

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Harvey knew that his day was going to be a bad when he woke up late. Harvey had never overslept until now and actually there was no particular reason why he was tired that morning. It was just one of those days you better stay at home. Nevertheless Harvey picked up his phone, which had been ringing for at least five minutes. Unfortunately he couldn't stay in bed just because he felt like it. "Ray, I'm sorry, I will be downstairs in ten minutes. I overslept… Wait what? You're not coming? Oh, get well soon. Call me when you feel ready for work again." Harvey hung up his phone and sighed. Apparently Ray was ill, thus Harvey had to drive on his own. He liked driving but he would come in even later because he would have to find a parking spot. But nobody would mind if he came in late, he was senior partner after all. Actually nobody would even dare to bother him if he came in late. Everything was fine as long as he arrived on time to the meetings and court hearings. Oh, shit. Actually he had a court hearing today. Harvey decided that he would skip the shower. He shaved as fast as he could, and made the best out of his messy hair without spending too much time with styling it.

For a brief moment he felt like a college student who drank too much in the middle of the week and tried to go to at least some classes before coming home to shower, eat and nap.

Five minutes later Harvey was in his car and driving as fast as he could. Well at least as fast as the speed limit allowed him to. Maybe he sped up at some yellow traffic lights, but really, who doesn't do that? Harvey wasn't far from Pearson Hardman when he decided to even ignore a red light. The street was empty; it was just one of those stupid traffic lights which had really no purpose…

Or did they?

"Shit!" Harvey shouted. He hadn't seen the bike coming out of a narrow street rushing over the crosswalk. The bike and the man, no a boy as Harvey saw now, flew a few meters before both crashed on the pavement. 'Fuck, I just killed a kid', Harvey thought, but then he saw that the boy started moving.

Harvey jumped out of his car and ran to the kid, who was already standing. The kid didn't really look steady on his feet but Harvey was relieved because he didn't look too bad.

"Hey kid, are you okay?" Harvey just noticed how stupid his question was. The kid had just been hit by a car! Of course he wasn't alright. Harvey sighed. He was going to miss the hearing. He should call Donna. Maybe Louis could go to court instead of him although he hated to ask Louis for a favor. But first he needed to call an ambulance and the police. Ray needed to get better soon; Harvey would lose his driver's license because of this stunt.

Harvey grabbed the kid's upper arm to steady him because he looked like he would fall over at any moment. The older man dialed 911.

"Stop", the boy shouted and hit Harvey's hand. The mobile fell on the street and Harvey could almost hear the display of his phone crack.

"What the hell, kid? You just broke my phone." It was the first time Harvey really actually looked at the kid. He had blonde hair and innocent blue eyes. His nose was bleeding and so was his lip. He was pretty pale but Harvey couldn't say if it was just normal for the kid to be pale. Harvey also couldn't say how old he was; maybe thirteen or twelve or younger. But he knew that Donna would think that he was adorable and she would kill Harvey if she knew that he had nearly killed the boy with the baby blue eyes.

"Please, don't call an ambulance. I'm totally fine, Sir." The kid answered. Harvey didn't believe him one second, but the kid seemed to be old enough to know when he needed a hospital.

"Do you want me to call the police?"

The boy seemed to think about it for a second. But his answer surprised Harvey. "You drove through a red light, right? So this is only your fault. If we call the police you will most likely lose your driver's license. No, I think you'll be lucky if you only lose your driver's license for hitting a fourteen year old boy with your much too expensive car." The boy smirked. "Let's settle this right here and now. First off you will buy me a new bike, because I don't think that that thing is able to be ridden anymore." The kid pointed to his bike and Harvey had to admit that the thing was barely recognizable as a bike anymore. Harvey gulped. The kid was lucky to be alive right now. The boy was also lucky that the bike broke into a million pieces and not his bones. "And you will pay for a new school uniform; it's pretty torn up and my teachers don't like torn up uniforms." Harvey just now realized that the boy's suit was a school uniform of a pretty good private high school, which was actually quiet famous. Some of the associates who grew up in New York went to that school. Not that Harvey cared.

The kid continued, "Additionally I want two hundred fifty bucks because I saved you from a lot of trouble." Harvey rolled his eyes. But he had to admit that he was pretty lucky that the kid wanted to settle like that. He might even get to court only a few minutes late.

"Fine kid, I will give you my business card. You call me later and I will transfer the money to your bank account."

"No, cash."

Harvey rolled his eyes. "Fine, cash. I don't have that much money on me right now. Let's meet later in front of my bank. But right now I have a really important court hearing. Can we do this later?"

"Okay. But I have one more condition."

"What?" Harvey sighed. The kid spared him lot of trouble by not calling the police but the boy was starting to get on his nerves.  
"You have to drive me to school, I really can't be late."

Harvey was about to laugh out loud. A high school student who didn't want to be late to school? He had the perfect excuse to be late. He got ran over by a god damn car! If Harvey was in his place he would've called in sick and stayed home watching TV while being cuddled and comforted by his mom. It was high school, not something that really mattered. God, kids these days…

"I can't be late either, kid. I will give you forty more bucks for a cab, alright? It shouldn't be hard to get a taxi at the street over there."

"That's a deal." The kid grinned and stretched out his hand. Harvey sighed. He took fifty dollars out of his wallet and gave it to the boy. "I guess you don't have change, kid?" Harvey asked. He didn't have exactly forty dollars.

"You guessed right." The kid answered smiling while putting the money into his backpack. "And your business card, please. And don't try to trick me because I remembered you license plate and there is a street camera over there which will prove everything I say to the police." The boy explained further. Harvey tried to find the camera; he wasn't sure if the kid was so smart as to admittedly notice a camera or if he was even smarter and bluntly bluffed.

"I really have no need to trick you, kid. And I'm not that evil." He took out his business card and put it into the boy's hand.

The boy looked at it for a few seconds and nodded. "See you soon, Mr. Specter. If you'll excuse me, I have to hurry I am late. And I'm sorry for your car." For the first time Harvey took a look at his car. It was a fender bender. Harvey loved his car but it still looked better than the bike or even the kid.

The boy turned around, kicked a few bigger pieces of his bike to the side of street, and ran to the other street which was much more crowded. Well, it wasn't really running. It was more of an awkward way to limp fast. For a moment Harvey considered to stop the boy and to drive him to a hospital after all. It looked like the kid was hurting a lot but then he looked at his watch and jumped into his car. If he didn't stop at the office first; he would still be at court on time.


	2. Chapter 2

Have fun reading!

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"Harvey, you look like hell." Donna greeted him.

"Yeah, thanks, nice to see you too. I had a rough morning. I overslept, Ray is ill and I had an accident. But I won the case. I am still the best closer of New York, even on my worst day." Harvey explained before rushing into the office.

"Wait Harvey, you hand an accident? Are you alright?" She went after him into his office. She looked worried.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Harvey sat down on his chair. "I hit some kid, though. He was fine, too. He didn't want to call an ambulance. Well I have to buy him a new bike; I'm meeting him after work to give him money. The accident was my fault. I am pretty lucky that he didn't want to call the police."

Donna wasn't looking that worried anymore. "Yeah, you are lucky, Harvey. Even on your worst day."

-Suits-

Mike's day was totally shitty. Well, his days were shitty most of the time but this day was his worst in a long time. Yesterday he got stuck at work because some co-worker had been ill and he went to bed pretty late. He would have overslept if his sister didn't wake him. Because he was so tired he had been slower that morning and he barely got his sister to school on time. He should really consider buying his sister her own bike. She was eight; maybe she was old enough to ride to school on her own. But Mike's stomach ached when he thought about his baby sister riding alone on her bike through New York City. He had to wait a few more years.

But that was not the reason why his day was totally bad today. After he had dropped his sister off, he drove as fast as he could. He didn't want to be late to school. He was in a pretty prestigious private high school and he was only there because of a scholarship. It was one of his biggest fears to get kicked out of the scholarship program; therefore he rode his bike like a maniac. But it wasn't his fault that he got hit by a car. Maybe if he had been slower and more considerate he could have stopped before the car hit him, but it still wasn't his fault.

Luckily he wasn't hurt too bad. He really didn't want to spend his day in a hospital where they might ask questions about his legal guardians, which didn't exist. The man, who hit him, Harvey Specter as Mike learned later, had no interest in calling the police and ambulance either. He agreed on paying for the damage, which was actually great. Mike wouldn't have to worry about food and rent for a few weeks.

Mike got to school on time. He even had time to wash of the blood on his face and he could also persuade the school's secretary to give him a new uniform and allow him to pay for it later.

He sat down in class a few seconds early. As the adrenalin stopped rushing though his veins he noticed how much pain he was actually in. His leg and ribs hurt like hell. For a brief moment he thought about going to the school nurse but she would want to call his parents and Mike would have to talk his way out of that. Mike decided to just survive the day and maybe he could ask his landlord to buy him some pain meds later.

Mike looked around in his class. Most of his classmates looked tired and disinterested too. But Mike doubted that anyone had a life as complicated as his. He was one of the only students on a scholarship; most of the other kids had wealthy parents. The parents were either really rich or really caring and doing everything to enable their kids to go to a good school. None of his classmates knew that Mike was actually an orphan. As far as the school staff was concerned Mike was living with legal guardian since his grand-mother passed away nearly two years ago, but that wasn't exactly true. Sure someone adopted him and his sister immediately after his grand-mother died but that person was someone Mike paid off with the money he inherited from his grand-mother. It hadn't been much but that person didn't seem to care about the trouble he might get in for adopting two kids, taking their money and leaving them alone. Mike was fortunate that this person knew somebody who made sure that no social worker would ever check on the kids. Apparently his legal guardian knew somebody who could hack into computers and cross them of a list or something like that. As long as nobody troubled him Mike didn't care.

Mike doubted that he and his sister's "legal guardian" was even in the country anymore. Mike was just happy to not be adopted by anyone. Some other kids might think that it would be better to live with some legal guardians rather than living in the basement of a Korean restaurant and working as a dishwasher there, waking up every Saturday to do a paper route, and taking care of his eight year-old sister. But honestly Mike thought that this was much better than living with legal guardians. One time shortly after his parents died, when his grandmother was still alive, he and his sister had been in foster care for a few months because his grandmother broke her hip and was hospitalized. It had been awful. First of all he and his sister got separated. They could only see each other once every few weeks. His sister's foster parent cut his sister's hair short because it was not practical or something like that. She had loved her long hair and Mike could still see his sister disappointed face when she looked in the mirror. Her hair still wasn't as long as it once was. They made her do a lot of things she didn't want to, like horseback riding, doing ballet, playing the violin and the piano. Maybe they cared about her future, but she was a little girl who had just lost her parents and all she needed was love and support. She didn't need to be rushed from one activity to another. Actually his sister foster parents had been the reason why he couldn't see her regularly. They said something about him being a bad influence and a reminder of their dead parents. Every time Mike and met, they barley talked because his sister cried for the entire time while clutching him.

He on the other hand had been stuck with parents who didn't care at all. They had several foster children. He had to go to school on his own, but there was always food on the table. Once he'd gotten ill and they took care of him but they didn't try to get close to him because they knew it was only temporary. It had been a cold place but it was still fine until they found out that Mike was some kind of genius. Suddenly they were really interested in him and had even fought his grandmother over guardianship. Luckily his grandmother won, and everything went back to normal.

Everything had been alright until his grandmother died, but Mike wouldn't let them throw him and his sister in the system again.

Therefore he did everything he could to prevent that. Their situation wasn't perfect. They lived in the basement of a Korean restaurant. Mike didn't have to pay rent but he had to work there every evening for about four hours. On the weekends he worked longer but he got about a hundred fifty bucks a month and he and his sister could eat all the leftovers. Additionally he did two paper rounds on Saturdays so he could pay for anything else like his sister's after school activities. It wasn't too bad. His sister had a scholarship for a private primary school. She didn't have an eidetic memory like he had but she was still pretty smart. In a few years Mike could go to college and if he was lucky he would get a good scholarship and he and his sister's living situation would improve.

Later that day Mike took a bus to the firm where Harvey Specter worked. He would have called Harvey but he didn't have a phone and it's not easy to find a pay phone these days. The firm was only a few bus stations away from his school. Moreover Mike was eager to see the law firm because he was determined to become a lawyer one day.

-Suits-

He was lucky that he had still his nice new school on because he was pretty sure that the security of the building would have thrown him out immediately if he was in his normal clothes.

"Are your parents working here, kid? Should I call their office and ask them to come down or do you want to go upstairs?" a nice security officer asked him smilingly.

Mike blushed. He could bet that at least a few of his classmate's parents worked in this place.

"Can you call Harvey Specter? And tell him that… the kid who he ran over today is waiting for him here?" Now the officer looked at him suspicious. But Mike fished out Mr. Specter's business card and showed it to the officer. "He gave that to me today. He wanted me to call him but I don't have a phone and since I wasn't far from the firm…" The officer nodded smiling again and picked up his phone and pressed a few buttons. He talked to someone and explained that Mike was waiting downstairs.

A few seconds later he turned around to Mike again.

"Mr. Specter' secretary says that you can wait in his office. Mr. Specter isn't here right now. Just take elevator up there. It's the 21th floor. Just ask for his secretary when you come in."

"Thank you!" Mike smiled. He actually would see the firm. He was pretty excited and for a brief moment he forgot about his hurt leg and nearly fell when he jumped towards the elevators.

-Suits-

Smiling with a hot coffee in his hand Harvey walked through the firm. Sure, today started out bad and his hair wasn't as nice as usual but his day was getting better. He won a case, he had a successful meeting and just an hour ago he got a new client for the firm. He would work a few more hours and go home early. He had nearly forgotten about the accident in the morning until he saw the kid spinning in the office on his chair and playing with one of his basketballs.

"Donna! Why the hell did you let the kid in my office?" He asked the tall woman. He felt like shouting but he knew better than raising his voice at Donna.

"You are asking me, why I let the kid in your office? When you told me this morning that you hit a kid with your car I didn't believe that you actually meant a kid." She explained. She glared angrily at Harvey.

"I said 'kid'. Why would I mean anything else?" Harvey argued looking confused.

"I just thought you meant someone older, not a little boy. You should have called his parents, an ambulance and the police. I can't believe you pushed a kid into settling on money. I think that's actually a crime, Harvey." Donna said. A few people started glaring at them and wondering what a kid was doing in Harvey's office.

"I didn't push him into anything. It was his idea. Now let me deal with him and forget about that bullshit." Harvey said. He turned and marched into his office.

The boy stopped spinning the chair immediately and put the basketball on Harvey's table. Angrily Harvey took the basketball and put back on window still.

"That's my chair kid, get out of it. And never touch the basketballs again." Harvey ordered. He really hated kids. The boy seemed to be surprised by Harvey's anger and stood up. Maybe he stood up a bit too fast because he fell down awkwardly when he tried to walk to the other side of the table. Harvey rolled his eyes and helped the kid up and led him to another chair.

"I'm sorry Mr. Specter. I didn't want to impose, but I don't have a phone, that's why I showed up in person." The kid explained.

Harvey sat down too. "I think you had every intention to impose. That's why you sat down in my chair and played with one of my signed balls. That was rude kid. And you don't have a phone? Somehow I doubt that since you are going to one of the most expensive schools in the U.S. I don't think that your parents can't pay for a cellphone when they can pay for your tuition fee. Most parents are buying phones for their kids because they think that it is a security factor too. Moreover not having a mobile phone in your generation must be social death."

The kid narrowed his eyes.

"I don't care about my social status and my parents aren't rich. I've got a scholarship. So give me my money and leave me alone." There was a bitter tone in the kid's voice and Harvey wondered if he had hit a soft spot.

"Yeah, fine kid. My bank is ten minutes by foot from here. Eight hundred dollars should cover everything, alright?" The kid nodded and got up from the chair, this time slower and without falling over. Suddenly Donna was standing in the room too.

"Harvey, I think you should call the kid's parents. Obviously he isn't as fine as he wants us to think. He should see a doctor and I don't agree with giving a kid eight hundred dollar. His parents should take care of the money… and actually his parents should decide if they want to sue you or not." Donna said. Harvey had to admit, she made sense. That was actually the only adult thing to do.

It wasn't him who protested, but the kid. "Please, don't involve my parents. I just sprained my ankle, it looks worse than it is and my parents are douchebags. I worked really hard for a scholarship and if they get my money I will never see anything of it and I really want to pay for a field trip next week. Please." Suddenly the kid's eyes looked even bluer than before. Harvey was surprised when Donna nodded. In contrast to Donna, the older man didn't really believe the kid's bullshit. "Fine Harvey. Take the kid to the bank and pay him off. But you got lucky, you know that right?" Donna finally said.

"Yeah, I know. Come on kid. I don't have all day."

Harvey left the building and rushed towards the bank. He was sure that the kid was following him until he noticed that the boy had disappeared in a crowd behind him. Harvey sighed annoyed and went back to find the kid. Two minutes later he found him leaning on a streetlamp. He looked out of breath, and tears piled in the kid's eyes.

"How old are you again? Eighty? Can't you go a bit faster kid?" Harvey snorted.

"I'm sorry Sir. You know I just got hit by a car today. Some asshole ignored a red light." The kid returned angrily.

"I thought you just sprained your ankle?" Harvey asked.

"Still hurts."

"Fine we will walk slower. Come on."

A second later the kid grabbed Harvey's arm to support himself. Harvey wanted to protest but when he saw how much the kid actually needed to lean on him to walk at all, he didn't say anything. Instead he pulled an arm around the kid and helped him walk. Gratefully, the boy let Harvey carry most of his weight.

"Thank you, Mr. Specter.", the kid murmured barely audible. He seemed to be embarrassed about his vulnerable state.

They were still five minutes away from the bank, actually fifteen minutes if they continued to walk at that pace, when Harvey saw his car. He had forgotten that he had parked there today.

He took out his key and opened it. Then he led the kid to the car. "Get in. We can't continue like that. My back is killing me and you look like you'll break out in tears any minute."

Actually the boy looked relieved when he sat down into the car. After Harvey got into the car too, the kid was sound asleep.

Really what kind of kid was he? What did he want to prove? Yeah, a scholarship was great and there were a lot of kids with douchebags as parents, but there was something seriously wrong with the kid. He could barely walk, fell asleep the second he sat down comfortably and he still refused to go to a hospital.

Harvey shook his head and started driving. But instead of driving to his bank, he made his way to the nearest hospital.

-Suits-

When the kid woke up he looked around with a confused expression until he saw Harvey in the driver's seat.

"Oh, Mr. Specter. I'm sorry, I must have dozed off. Are we at the bank?" The kid said while opening the door of the parked car.

"Nope, we're not at the bank. We are at the hospital." He explained and got out of the car. A second later he was standing at boy's side of the car, ready to help him out.

"We are what? I told you, it's a sprained ankle!" The teenager argued.

"Sure about that?" Mr. Specter doubted.

"Yes!"

"So you would be fine if we walked back to the office? It's like half an hour by foot."

"Why not drive?" The kid asked innocently.

"Let's see a doctor hotshot." Harvey said rolling his eyes again.

"Under one condition. No, two." The boy interjected.

"You would be a great lawyer someday. What is it?" Harvey said smiling. Yeah, the kid was annoying but somehow amusing too. He could see that the kid was smarter and less naïve than most of the kids his age.

"You will say that you're my dad."

"What? I can't do that!" Harvey said not believing what he just heard. Why couldn't he just have hit any other normal kid?

"Yes, you can. I know your license plate and all, remember?"

"Okay, okay. If someone asks, I'm your dad. What's your name anyway?" Harvey felt a bit embarrassed that he didn't even think about asking about the kid's name until now. If he hadn't decided to bring the kid to the hospital he would have probably never known the name of the boy who had nearly killed.

"My name is Mike Ross. But the name of my legal guardian is Peter Morgan."

"You are in foster care?" Harvey asked. That might explain why this kid was so weird.

"Yup, I am." Mike nodded.

"So what is your second condition?" Harvey wanted to know. He just wanted to do the right thing and bring the kid to the hospital. Why was that so damn hard?

"You give me you cell phone for a second. I need to call my sister's school and tell them that I will pick her up later."

Harvey narrowed your eyes.

"Why do you have to pick up your sister?" Harvey had never picked up his younger brother. Maybe he had to once or twice after he got his driver's license but never before that.

"She is eight!" Mike explained enraged. "She can't go through half of New York City alone after five o'clock. It's already getting dark!"

"Yeah, kid. I didn't mean that. I am asking why the hell you need to pick her up. What about your parents?" Harvey wanted to know. He started to be genuinely…concerned. Sure, he didn't care about anyone except himself, but even he couldn't ignore that there was something seriously wrong in that boy's life.

"I told you. Parents. Douchebags." Mike shrugged his shoulders, looking at the floor.

"You mean foster parents."

"Whatever. Just give me you phone."

Harvey sighed and gave Mike the phone.

"You already got a new one didn't you? The one this morning had a broken display." Mike noticed, while he dialed his sister's school number by heart.

"I can't meet my millionaire clients with a broken phone. The exterior is important too. You got a new uniform too, didn't you? I think you know what I am talking about."

Mike nodded disinterested and talked to someone for a few seconds before giving Harvey his phone back.

Harvey helped Mike out of the car and they slowly walked into the hospital.

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Thanks for reading!

I will update next week :)


	3. Chapter 3

I promised an update a week after the previous chapter. Well... that turned out to be looong week. I am sorry!

But here is another chapter! I hope you like it.

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They had spent about two hour at the hospital. The doctor was angry with Harvey because he waited that long to take Mike to the hospital. The "sprained ankle" turned out be a broken ankle and apparently the kid had two broken ribs and a mild concussion as well. When Harvey saw the kid's shirtless upper body, his stomach turned inside out. While the one side was pale like a sheet of a paper the other one was more black and blue. They told him that Mike needed to stay at home at least for one week. They gave him pain meds and crunches. Mike couldn't run or ride his bike for at least five weeks which seemed to upset him a lot. When they left the hospital Mike seemed to be pretty upset. Harvey was sure that the pain must be better because of the medicine and since he was bandaged up, but the kid seemed to be sulking even more than before. The boy walked slowly out of the hospital. He looked clumsy on his crunches.

"Come on kid. Five weeks will be over in no time. Don't worry you will be running around and jumping before the summer comes. Now you have a lot of good reasons to lie in bed and watch movies. That's not so bad, is it?"

"Sure Mr. Specter." Mike said but he really didn't sound persuaded.

A few minutes later they were at Harvey's bank and he decided to give the kid a thousand dollar instead. He felt bad for the kid. The boy was in a lot of pain and seemed to be pretty stressed out. Moreover Harvey knew that he would've had to pay much more if this case were to come to court although the kid didn't seem to want that. Mike counted the money and looked at Harvey with surprise.

"That's not what we agreed on. It's too much." Mike said not sure what to make out of Harvey's gesture.

"Yeah, and you are in more pain than I thought. So it's fine. Buy yourself a nice new bike. Don't waste the money on useless staff." The kid smiled again.

"Thanks a lot Mr. Specter! You did a lot for me, but if you excuse me, I need to hurry. My sister has been waiting for ages now." Mike said. He turned around and started moving towards the bus station.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" Harvey said not believing what the kid was trying to do.

"To the bus?" Mike answered confused.

"Sure kid, I'm going to let you run through New York with a thousand dollars. Have you lost your mind? Criminals can smell that kind of money on you. You already got hit by a car today; I don't think you want to put mugging on the list."

Mike still looked confused.

"I'll drive you home Mike" Harvey explained. "Get in my car." Before Mike could say anything else Harvey added: "And we will pick up your sister first."

-Suits-

Half an hour later there were at his sister's school. Harvey was surprised to find out that it was a private school too. Their parents might be douchebags, but they couldn't have done too much wrong if both of their kids had scholarships to good schools. A few minutes later a little girl hopped into the car grinning widely. She had blonde hair just like her brother, and she was really small and thin. Her round baby face nearly seemed to be too big for her tiny body.

"This is a really cool car. Who is your friend, Mike? Why are you late?" She asked. She petted her brother's hair happily. Somehow Mike seemed to be a lot better now too.

"That's Mr. Specter. Today he hit me with his really cool car." Mike explained. The girl looked horrified.

"Are you alright Mike? Are you hurt?" The girl wanted to know.

"Nah, I'm alright. I just sprained my ankle. But Mr. Specter agreed on driving us home."

Harvey pursed his lips as heard Mike's blunt lie about the sprained ankle. Only now he realized that Mike might have known from the very beginning that it was much more than just a sprained ankle.

Mike directed Harvey though the city. Harvey wanted to use his navigator but Mike said that he could say the directions. Harvey was surprised that Mike could navigate him without leading him into one-way-roads or blind alleys.

But Harvey's mood dropped when he saw where they were driving. It really wasn't a good neighborhood and he wondered how the kid rode his bike from here to the girl's school and to his school every day. That was at least one and a half hours of riding every morning and evening.

He shook his head disbelieving.

"Here we are." Mike explained suddenly. Harvey stopped the car unsure of what to think.

"You live here kid? In the Korean restaurant?" He asked disbelieving.

"Yup. Above it actually. Let's go Emmy." 'Emmy, that must be the girl's name' Harvey thought.

"Wait, kid, I will help you." Harvey offered. Not that he really want to help the kid, but suddenly he had the feeling that the kid was bullshitting him.

"I'm fine, Mr. Specter. I can walk now. I've got the crunches now." Mike said smilingly.

"Yeah, but I can carry your backpack."

"Nope, really I'm fine. Either way you can't leave that kind of car here for more than a minute. It will disappear as if it were one of Houdini's shows, except that you will never get it back. Thanks, Mr. Specter, for everything. I know you paid for my medical bill too, so thanks."

"Get out, kid." Harvey said as he turned red. Somebody could actually accuse him of caring.

Suddenly the little girl put her arms around Harvey's neck and kissed his cheek.

"Thank you, for helping my brother, Mr. Specter. You know, nobody helped us for a long time." The girl whispered in his ear so that Mike didn't hear it.

"Come on, Emmy. Mr. Specter had a long day too," said Mike, who was already standing outside.

"I'm coming." The girl said and jumped out of the car. A second later Harvey was sitting alone. Something was very wrong. Abusive parents maybe? Mike had called his parents douchebags. That was a pretty bad sign. Maybe he should just follow him and ask if everything was alright. Just to be sure. But he was Harvey, he didn't care. But this was different from his job, and it was only human to help kids when they were in trouble. It's not like Harvey was going to adopt them or something. He just wasn't a total asshole. As soon as the kids disappeared into the restaurant, Harvey went in after them.

When he entered the restaurant a waiter immediately came to lead him to a table. Harvey shook his head and asked for 'Mike' but the man didn't seem to understand English at all. Harvey couldn't really see were Mike could have gone. There were no stairs to the second floor. When he tried to go through another door the waiter pulled him back and pointed to a sign which said for employees only and led Harvey to a table again. Harvey decided that he might find something out if he ate dinner there. Thus he sat down and ordered the most expensive meal off the menu and waited.

He saw neither Mike nor his sister. After he got his meal, he ate it very slowly hoping that if he waited long enough then he could get some information. But only a Korean man and woman were there, not one blonde kid in sight.

After a while he decided to order some drinks and he started working. He had the feeling if he bluntly asked about the boy then the employees of the restaurant might cover up for whatever the kid or his parents were hiding.

It must been around eleven o'clock, when they started to clean the tables. They didn't bother him but it was obvious that they wanted to close the restaurant soon.

That was when Mike came out of the backdoor with a broom in his hand. The kid looked dead tired but he still cleaned the floor with one crunch in his left hand and the broom in his other hand. At first he didn't see Harvey, but then when he noticed the older man, a horrified expression came over his face.

"What the hell are you doing, kid?" Harvey jumped of his chair. He walked over to Mike and took the broom out of his hand. "It's eleven o'clock, you should rest, not only because it is doctor's orders but because you are god damn kid. It's the middle of the week- How will you get grades good enough for a scholarship if you are working that late! Where are your parents? I really need a good word with them." Harvey was shouting.

"Calm down, Mr. Specter. That's none of your business. And don't worry my grades are perfect even with working late." Mike argued. He took the broom out of Harvey's hand again.

"Yeah? How about your ankle? You broke it today; it won't heal properly if you're standing on it."

"I will be fine." Mike said. "Now go home and mind your own business."

"No, I will not. Either you will bring me to your parents right now or will call social service right now."

Mike looked horrified before, but now he was pale like he had seen a ghost.

"Please Mr. Specter, leave me alone… I… I can't…" There were tears in the kid's eyes.

"Just bring me to your parents. Okay? Everything will be alright, I promise." Harvey said. He lowered his voice, when he saw the kid start to cry.

"I don't have parents." The kid said.

"I mean your foster parents, legal guardians, whatever." Harvey explained further.

"I don't have anything like that either." Mike finally admitted. For a second Harvey thought that the kid was bullshitting him again, but this time the kid seemed to be serious.


	4. Chapter 4

Harvey and the boy talked for over a half an hour. The kid told him everything about how his parents died, how he and his sister were in foster care once, how his grandmother died two years ago, and how he decided to take care of everything on his own. Harvey could barely imagine how the kid managed to get a scholarship, work four hours a day in the restaurant and do paper routes on the weekend all while taking care of his younger sister. That was more than a lot of adults managed to do. Harvey sighed. He knew he should call social services, but the kid seemed to be dead serious about everything. Maybe he could manage to live like that. Maybe it was better that way.

"Okay kid, promise me that you will take it slower for the next month. You broke your leg, you should rest, alright?" The kid nodded.

"I will pay off the restaurant owner so that you don't have to work for one month." Harvey explained further.

"Why would you do that?" Mike wondered.

"I owe you that much. It would be much more trouble to go to trial because I nearly killed a kid."

Harvey took out his mobile phone and typed something. Than he took out his SIM-card and gave the phone to Mike.

"The first thing you do tomorrow is buy a new SIM-card. The pre-paid ones aren't that expensive. Otherwise you will stay at home and actually rest for the next week. I will call your school to tell them that you are not coming. I will also pick up your sister in the morning and bring her back in the evening for the next week. And if you ever get into trouble you call me. My number is in the address book of that phone. You got me?"

"Yes Mr. Specter. I don't know what to say. Thanks. A lot."

-Suits.

After that eventful day with Mike, Harvey forgot about the kid. The next day Ray was feeling fine and instead of Harvey, Ray drove the girl to school and back for exactly one week. Sometimes Ray told him how adorable the girl was and asked a few questions but Harvey always avoided an explanation. Donna wondered why she had to buy Harvey a new phone again the next day but Harvey only said that he gave it away because he liked IPhones better than Samsung's phones. She asked about the kid, but Harvey only told her that he paid him off. He knew that Donna wouldn't let the boy be if she knew that those kids were completely on their own. But Harvey had no intention of calling the social services or anything. If the kid wanted things to be the way they were, why not? They both seemed healthy, happy and fine. The kid seemed to be intelligent and maybe someday Harvey would get to read the biography of a certain Mike Ross, who climbed up the ladder completely on his own. Or maybe the kid would lead an average life telling the traumatizing story of his childhood while getting drunk with other college dropouts. Either way Harvey thought he didn't care. It was not his job to save some orphans who didn't want to be saved.

Therefore Harvey continued his life like normal until one night he suddenly got a call.

It was three o'clock. It was an unknown number who called and for a few seconds Harvey considered just ignoring it and calling back in the morning.

But his gut told him to pickup and so he did.

"Harvey Specter. I hope there is a good reason for the late call."

"Mr. Specter?" It was the whimpering voice of a little girl.

"Who's there?"

"Emmy," the girl said carefully. "Emma Ross." She corrected herself. "I'm sorry." Then Harvey heard the girl crying. Immediately Harvey remembered the name Ross. Normally Harvey didn't care to remember names other than his clients but somehow the name Mike Ross got stuck in his memory.

"You don't have to be sorry, Emmy. I told Mike to call me when you are in trouble. So what is it? Is Mike alright?"

"No…" The girl started crying even louder. "Mike… he's… sick."

Harvey gulped and jumped out of his bed trying to find his trousers.

"What is it? Can I talk to him?" Harvey wanted to know.

"No, you can't talk to him. I can't wake him up."

Shit.

"Don't worry; I will be there as fast as I can. But if you think Mike is getting worse then call the ambulance alright? Try to wake him, okay? But be gentle." Maybe it would have been the smartest thing to call an ambulance immediately, but he also didn't want to blow the kid's cover. If the ambulance got there and there were no parents, they would call social services for sure.

Harvey drove as fast as he could while ignoring every second red light and every speed limit. He was lucky no police officer stopped him. Fifteen minutes later he was at the Korean restaurant banging against the door. A few seconds later the little girl opened the door. She had a pink nightgown, a teddy in one hand and the mobile phone still in the other pressing it against her chest. They were alone. Apparently the kids were the only one living in that restaurant.

"Where is he?" Harvey asked. Without saying anything she let the phone fall on the floor and took Harvey's hand instead. She led him downstairs to the basement. It was pretty cold there and it seemed like the basement was also used as storeroom for food and a few ingredients. Somewhere between two cupboards there was a mattress. Harvey could only see a small face between huge pillows and a few blankets. As Harvey recognized Mike he ran over to the young boy and sat next to him on the mattress.

"Mike, kid, are you alright?" Harvey asked concerned. He put his hand on the boy's forehead. It was worryingly hot.

"Emmy, how long has he been like this?" Harvey wanted to know.

"I'm not sure. He was ill for a few days. Yesterday he said I should take a cab to school. He didn't pick me up like he promised. When I came home he was sleeping. I didn't want to wake him so I went to sleep too. Today he was awake in the morning but he didn't even understand that a whole day had passed. I went to school again and he was asleep when I came back home. A few hours ago he got really hot, but I couldn't wake him up anymore."

Harvey closed his eyes for a few seconds. The kid was lying in bed with a fever for probably 48 hours. He must be completely dehydrated.

"We need to go to the hospital. NOW! I'll carry Mike!"

Harvey took Mike, something that looked like the boy's coat, and additionally put a blanket around the boy. He was surprised at how light Mike was. Normally he wouldn't be able to carry a fourteen years old kid as easy as that.

They ran to car and put Mike in the backseat.

Emmy sat down next to Mike, hugging his head.

Harvey drove to the hospital and immediately rushed into the E.R.


	5. Chapter 5

The doctor came to Harvey an hour later. Emmy was sleeping while sitting on Harvey's lap and using Harvey's jacket as a blanket. Donna would accuse him of caring but Harvey couldn't just let a little girl get cold. He was still a gentleman.

"You are Mike Ross' father?" The doctor asked looking unhappy with him.

Harvey nodded.

"Mr. Morgan, your son was pretty dehydrated. He will be fine in a few hours, we gave him some antibiotics, something to drop the fever and we put him on a drip to get some fluids into him. Mr. Morgan, do you mind explaining to me how you let your son get into such a bad shape?" The doctor asked angrily.

Harvey gulped. Great, now he had to lie to cover a lie.

"I was working all day and night. He didn't feel well in the morning, so I asked my neighbor to check up on him. Apparently she thought that he was just sleeping off some bug. When I came home that night he didn't have a fever and was sleeping peacefully. When I checked up later that night, he was running a high fever and I came here as fast as I could." Harvey explained. "I'm really sorry, doctor."

When the doctor saw Harvey's worried face she smiled again. "I will lead you to Mike's room. We can put an extra bed there for the little lady. Mike should rest here for tonight but tomorrow morning you can take him home. He should stay home from school for a few days, but all in all he should be better soon."

"That's a relief." Harvey said and he actually meant it. He had been worried about the kid.

-Suits-

The next day Harvey called Donna and called in sick. Harvey never did that and Donna was very surprised. No, she was even shocked. He told her to not come over because he had the stomach flu and he just needed rest. Harvey knew that Donna didn't believe him for one second but if he was lucky she wouldn't bother to check on him and would just take the day off.

Harvey decided that he couldn't just bring Mike back to what the boy called his home. And he couldn't just leave the boy alone, thus he brought the kids to his apartment.

Harvey entered his flat. Emmy was holding his hand and Mike was following him tiredly. He hadn't talked much since he woke up; he seemed thankful for the support, but was still barely aware about Harvey, his sister and the apartment

"Wow, you home is great, Mr. Specter! It's so big." The girl said amazed.

"Harvey is just fine, Emmy. You don't have to call me Mr. Specter." Harvey explained and smiled as he saw the little girl's happy face.

"Do you have any kids Harvey? I mean your apartment is so big, you have to have kids."

"Actually I don't", Harvey explained blushing.

"But do you have a wife?" The little girl wanted to know.

"I don't."

"A girlfriend?"

"No, but I have a fine job." Harvey said. He could feel that he disappointed the little girl, but instead of looking at her, he turned to Mike who was walking like a zombie behind him not really registering what was happening around him.

"Mike, how are you?" Harvey asked concerned. He wasn't sure if the doctor was right to send him home that quickly. "Mike you can lie down in my guest room alright?" Mike nodded but other than that he didn't move at all. "Okay kid, I'll lead you to the guestroom. Emmy, why don't you turn on the TV?" The girl grinned and ran over to the big couch.

Harvey put one hand on Mike's shoulder and directed him into the guest room and onto the bed. Thankfully the kid sat down and closed his eyes immediately. "Hey, hey, kid. At least take off your shoes. And I would be happier if you changed your clothes. I will bring one of my sweatshirts and gym pants. Just stay awake for one second, okay?" Harvey left Mike and went into his room and returned with some comfy clothes, but Mike was already sleeping. He wasn't even lying completely on the bed. He didn't take off his coat or his shoes. His feet were still on the floor while he was lying with his back on the bed. Harvey couldn't believe the kid. He only had to stay awake one more second. The older man sighed and took off Mike's coat and his shoes. Then he put him on the bed properly and found an additional blanket to cover him.

Harvey didn't close the door just in case the kid woke up and needed something.

The little girl was sitting on his couch. In contrast to her brother she knew how to make herself comfortable. One of her shoes was lying in the one corner of the room, the other must be somewhere under the couch because it was nowhere to be seen, and Harvey's jacket which she had been wearing the whole time was lying on the floor. Harvey couldn't believe her. If she wasn't such a damn cute girl, he would have been angry.

"Aren't you tired too princess? My lap couldn't have been that comfortable."

"I am not tired at all! Can I watch TV please? I haven't watched anything for ages, literally for ages. Not since granny…" The kid argued. Harvey shrugged his shoulders.

"Watch as long as you want. But I have to work. There are cereals and milk in the kitchen. Help yourself. If you need anything else, I am in the other room. And call me if Mike gets any better or worse." Harvey said before leaving the girl alone with some cartoons.

-Suits-

When Mike woke up at first he didn't know where he was. But he calmed down when he saw that his sister slept next to him on the big bed.

He wasn't at the restaurant and he wasn't at school. For a moment he thought he was at one of his classmate's home because it looked similar, but he was wrong. He decided to get up to look around, but it was mostly because he was really thirsty and hungry. Wherever he was he needed to find something to drink first and eat too. It was dark outside but he had to be in some pretty fancy apartment because he could see New York's skyline. The view was really next room had an even better view and the floor wasn't cold at all. The floor was probably heated.

Then he saw a man sitting at a table apparently working. There was only a desk lamp on, otherwise the room was dark. After a few seconds he recognized Harvey Specter. He didn't know why Mr. Specter was here or why Mike was at Mr. Specter's place. He only remembered that he had been ill and that he had told his sister to take a cab to school. He was pretty confused.

"Mr. Specter." Mike said slowly drawing Mr. Specter' attention to himself.

"Mike! You are awake. That's great. How are you feeling?" Harvey wanted to know. He put his paperwork aside and waited for Mike to answer.

"Eh, I don't know. I feel kind of fuzzy." Mike tried to explain. He had a light headache but other than that he felt okay surprisingly.

"Yeah, high fever and pain meds can do that to you. It is twelve o'clock, I sent your sister to sleep three hours ago. Maybe you should go back to bed too. I know you slept the whole day, but you need rest." Harvey explained. He stood up and walked over to Mike. He put a hand on his forehead and after a few seconds he looked satisfied.

"Your fever is down, but the doctor said you should stay in bed for at least a few more days." Harvey said.

"I'm sorry Mr. Specter… but… thanks… but why am I here?" Mike asked finally. He was pretty confused and his headache didn't help.

"You don't remember, kid?" Harvey's voice was a bit concerned.

"No, what am I supposed to remember?" Mike wanted to know. Not happy that his memory was failing him for the first time in his life.

"About 20 hours ago your sister called me, saying that you were in really bad shape. You had a high fever and I brought you to the hospital. They pumped some fluids into you; I brought you home this morning and then you slept your fever off. You should feel better soon." Harvey summed up the last few hours.

"My sister called you, you brought me to the hospital and then you brought me home with you?"

Mike felt more confused than before.

"That's what I just said, kid."

"Why the hell would you do that? What do you want?" Mike asked suspiciously. He stepped away from Harvey.

"I don't want anything kid. I'd told you, if you were ever in trouble you could call me. And I am a man of my word."

"Somehow, I doubt it. Why would you play charity for me and my sister? You gain nothing from that and I've got the feeling that you don't do anything for free." Mike had a weird feeling. He just wanted take his sister and go home. Yes, Mr. Specter helped him once but this was different. Last time Mike knew that Mr. Specter had felt guilty because he had hit the kid with his car but this was different. He had no reason to help him.

"I am human too you know. I couldn't leave you to die there." Mr. Specter explained.

"Yeah, fine, I get that. But every other person would have called an ambulance and social services. But instead you brought me to the hospital and lied to the doctors because otherwise my sister and I would be in foster care right now. And you brought me home with you. That's far more than any other person would have done for some orphans, especially some hotshot lawyer living in an apartment with a billion dollar view. So what's the deal, what do you want?" Mike said angrily. He glared at Mr. Specter suspiciously.

"I want nothing, kid. I just thought… I wanted to be… nice…" Mr. Specter admitted, but Mike didn't believe him for one second.

"Don't bullshit me. You want something." Mike said.

Then the next second Mike felt like attacking the lawyer.

"Did you touch my sister?"


	6. Chapter 6

That was too much for Harvey. He had tried. He really tried to be nice. Donna would have been proud of him, but he couldn't deal with the kid anymore. Now Harvey remembered why he only cared about himself. He really had tried his best but instead of gaining a thanks or even trust, he was accused of being a pedophile. People called Harvey an asshole, egoistic and a scumbag on daily basis or at least thought about him like that, but he had never been accused of mistreating kids before.

"I didn't touch you sister, you little ungrateful ass." Harvey said not sure what to else to say.

Mike marched out of the room into the guestroom. Harvey followed him still angry and unsure what to do or say. Mike grabbed his sister and carried her out of the room. The little lady was still sleeping.

"Yeah, thanks a lot Mr. Specter. But I think we will leave now."

Mike rushed towards what he thought was the door of the flat but instead he just opened some kind of closet for brooms and cleaning stuff.

"Yeah, that's not the door. But Mike, you should probably put on some shoes first." Harvey suggested.

"No need. Just show me the door and you will never see me again." Mike explained still outraged.

Harvey shrugged his shoulders and led Mike to the door. But before Mike could open the door, the little princess opened her eyes.

"Mike, you're awake, how are you?" She smiled and kissed her brother's cheek. "Why are you carrying me? You should be resting." She freed herself from Mike's arms and looked confused while glancing from Mike to Harvey. "Where are we going Mike?" Emmy wanted to know.

"Home," Mike answered briefly.

"Why?" The little girl's voice seemed disappointed.

"We don't want to bother Mr. Specter anymore." Mike explained calmly, still glaring angrily at Harvey.

"Why Mike? He was so nice! He saved you! We are not bothering him. We are just sleeping. We aren't bothering you, are we Harvey?" Emmy looked at Harvey with big round eyes.

"Not at all. But your brother doesn't feel comfortable here." Harvey answered.

"Why, Mike? Let's sleep in a real bed for one night. Please." She begged her brother.

"What's wrong with our bed, Emmy? It doesn't make a difference if the mattress is on the floor or in a bed." Mike argued. Harvey could still see that Mike was disoriented. God, the kid was unconscious twenty hours ago. He shouldn't be wandering around with a little girl in the middle of the night!

"Mike, just go back to bed. I promise you I don't want anything from you. I have no intention of harming you or your sister in anyway. Okay?" Harvey tried to calm the boy. Mike still seemed to be suspicious.

"Emmy, did he hurt you or touch you?" Mike wanted to know.

"He didn't!" Emmy seemed to not believe what Mike just asked. "He was nice. He worked while I watched TV. I saw all the stuff my classmates are always talking about. Later he ordered a pizza and we both ate it. He didn't touch me. I know what a pedophile is; you explained it to me a few years ago. Don't you remember silly? He definitely is not a pedophile. How could you think that?" The girl shouted at her brother. "If you don't mind I am going back to sleep. Good night guys." The little girl turned around and rushed back to the guestroom before Mike could stop her and suggest anything else.

The boy sighed. He seemed unsure about his sister's words at first but then he appeared to calm down. "I'm sorry Mr. Specter. I shouldn't have accused you of something so bad while you just wanted to help. It's just… I am not used to people helping me anymore. Not since grandma died."

"It's okay kid. Do you think you can go back to sleep? Or do you want to watch some TV to calm down?" Harvey asked.

"No, but… do you have… any of that Pizza left?" Now he looked at him with the same puppy dog eyes his sister used several times a day.

"No, but I can order some. What kind of pizza do you want?" Harvey took out his cell phone.

"No, you don't need to buy a pizza! Do you have any toast and some cheese? That would be totally fine." Mike said.

"I don't." Harvey answered.

Mike looked at him disbelieving. "What do you eat for breakfast?"

"Cereal," Harvey replied.

"Okay, cereal is fine. Really! Just need something to eat… I am starving."

Five minutes later both were sitting in the kitchen. Harvey watched how Mike drank a liter of water in less than a minute and he was eating his third bowl of cereal now.

"Thanks, Mr. Specter." Mike said after he finally seemed to be full.

"No need to thank me kid. And don't call me Mr. Specter, Harvey is just fine."

Mike smiled happy. "Okay Harvey. I guess my sister is right, you saved my life."

Harvey sighed; finally the kid seemed to be back to his senses. He didn't seem to be confused or suspicious anymore.

"But Harvey, I would like to pay you back. When I decided to live on my own, I meant that. I don't want to just bother people and live off their charity again." Mike explained while filling another bowl of Cereal.

"Don't worry about it kid. Sometimes it's okay to just accept help. Anyway you can't give me anything. I've got enough money, I don't need yours and I don't see what else you could do for me."

Mike seemed to be unsure too. He looked around the kitchen.

"I could clean your apartment, wash you dishes, buy some groceries, or walk your dog… "

"Kid, I've got a cleaning lady, I am paying someone to fill my fridge, I don't have a dog and I own a dishwasher. And I certainly will not fire my aid, buy a dog or sell my dishwasher." Harvey laughed.

"Okay, but you must need something. I don't know. I could wash your car."

"Got that covered, too." Harvey shook his head. The kid was kind of amusing.

"What about your work? I can file papers, or make some copies or something like that. I might know one or two things about law." Mike suggested further. Now Harvey was laughing out loud.

"Yeah, sure kid. How the hell should you know anything about the law? You are fourteen!"

Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I read some books."

"There are books for kids about law?" Harvey asked doubtfully.

"Not exactly."

"So what did you read? I can't recall that Harry Potter or Twilight ever mentioned U.S. law."

Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I read An Introduction to Law, Law Study, and the Lawyer's Role, Introduction to the Law and Legal System of the United States, Understanding Contract law, a few books about criminal law because I thought it was exciting, oh, and I also read some books from ancient Greek philosophers about law, and a few more books."

Harvey wasn't sure if the kid was bullshitting him again.

"How old are you again? And when are you taking the bar exam?"

Mike grinned.

"I'm fourteen and I am planning to take the bar in about ten years. And I will be prepared. Honestly, I talked to a young lawyer who just took the bar and I think I could answer sixty percent of the questions right now." Mike explained. He seemed to be pretty proud.

"Do you mean to tell me that you are some kind of genius?" Harvey raised one eye brow. The kid seemed to be pretty smart, maybe he was some kind of mini Einstein.

"Yeah… kind of. The thing is whenever I read something, I understand it, I remember it and I will never forget it."

"So you got a photographic memory?"

"Eidetic memory." Mike corrected.

Harvey knew that there had been something special about that kid; besides his unconventional living situation.

"But if I ever want to see a law school from the inside, I need to get a scholarship that will cover everything." Mike explained. Harvey could see that Mike worried a lot about him and his sister's future a lot. The older man sighed. When he had been fourteen he had worried about peeking in the girl's locker room, playing football and baseball, and how to make his brother's life hell… he hadn't spent one thought about scholarships, law or anything else to that matter.

"How about this kid: The doctor said you should stay at home, but I don't feel comfortable leaving you alone. You can come with me to work; maybe I will find some paperwork for you so you can repay me. But if you don't feel okay, you tell me, and if I tell you to rest then you rest. And if you are getting on my nerves and I tell you to take a cab home, you do as I say. Clear?"

"Crystal!" Mike said with excitement.

"So go to bed now. Try to sleep. We have to wake up early to get your sister some decent clothes for school and if you want to be at my firm you should at least wear your school uniform."

"Yes!" Mike stood up and put the dish in the dishwasher.

"And one more thing if anyone asks you who you are, you tell them that you are the son of a friend of mine and that you are doing some school project. Make it clear to everyone that I don't care and that I am a total asshole. Okay?"

Mike seemed confused but he agreed anyway before going to bed.


	7. Chapter 7

Thank you for all the reviews. You guys are amazing.

A lot of thanks to my Beta reader AoiLegend. My fanfictions would be much less worth reading without her. You should check out her fanfictions too, if you haven't already. Those who like Kid!fics will love her fanfictions.

Anyway, here is a new chapter. It's a bit longer than usual. Enjoy!

* * *

The next day when Harvey woke up the kids were already up.

"Harvey, I hope you don't mind. I let my sister shower in your bathroom and gave her one of your towels. And I showered too of course. I went downstairs and bought some croissants because I think I ate all of your cereal." Mike smiled.

Harvey shook his head. "Take it slow hotshot. You were at the hospital the day before!"

"Yeah, but I feel fine now." Mike explained.

"Sure but be careful anyway. And take your meds." Harvey gave Mike the pills the doctor ordered him to take. Mike looked at it uncertain for a second but swallowed it anyway.

"Let's go, Harvey!"

"Slow down puppy! Do I look ready for work? I don't think so!" Harvey explained already getting annoyed.

"Did you just call me puppy?"

"Yes."

Harvey turned around and got himself ready for work. The kids were on edge, mostly Mike, but his sister mimicked his behavior. Somehow Harvey was much faster that morning. They even had to wait a few minutes for Ray.

After the kids got decent clothes and after they had brought Emmy to school, Mike and Harvey entered Pearson and Hardman. Mike was grinning happily like it was Christmas morning or something.

"Remember Mike, it's a school project, I am an asshole and don't act too excited. Nobody likes school projects. Don't say a word about being on a scholarship program or being a genius, just don't say anything about yourself that's true alright." Harvey explained quickly just after they got out of the crowded elevator. "Follow me and don't talk to anyone."

Mike nodded and tried to suppress his big grin.

They marched directly to Harvey's office. Donna immediately recognized Mike from the day before and looked at Harvey surprised. "You hit the little guy again Harvey?"

Harvey shook his head. "I'm just doing a favor for the little guy. I know his dad and he asked me to take the kid with me for a few days. Something about a school project."

Donna narrowed her eyes.

"I thought the kid's parents were douchebags."

"All the more reason for me to know them. Don't you think?"

"Sure Harvey. You agreed to take a kid with you to work. How is your stomach? Are you alright? Because I think something must be seriously wrong."

"I'm super fine. A good night of sleep and I feel as good as new."

Harvey said smiling. He pushed Mike into the office and tried to avoid any further conversation with Donna. "But I really need to get some work done now. Mike I'll show you what you can do for me."

-Suits-

Harvey gave Mike a stack of papers to file. They were not too urgent or important, thus he didn't have to worry if the kid did everything right. Sure the kid seemed to be smart but he was still fourteen and Harvey did not expect too much. Harvey put Mike into an empty bullpen and told one of the associates to look after him. Harvey liked the kid but he still had work to do. He couldn't bother all day with him, especially not when he had already missed one day of work this week.

After a few meetings with clients Harvey decided to check in on the kid. If the kid was as smart as he claimed to be he should be finished with the files by now. However, he was still sitting at the desk focusing on some files.

He didn't notice Harvey step up behind him. He was listening to some music and seemed completely unaware of his surroundings.

Harvey pulled the plugs out of the kid's ears. Startled, Mike turned around and looked at Harvey.

"So how are you doing Mike?" he asked with a smile.

"Eh, fine, I guess. I finished those files you gave me a few hours ago, but you were in a meeting and Donna told me to keep myself busy until you were finished."

Harvey narrowed his eyes. He looked over Mike's shoulder and quickly skimmed through the text Mike was reading ... and highlighting sentences and writing notes.

"Are you doing the work of one of the associates Mike?" Harvey asked a bit confused.

"Yes, well... I asked Gregory for something to do and he gave me some work." Mike explained.

Harvey took the file and read it with disbelief. First how could one of the associates shove of their work to Mike? And second how the hell could Mike have done such decent work in such a short time? He was fourteen, wasn't he?

"Mike, you don't do work for anyone else but me. You'll work in my office for the rest of the day since I am not meeting any more clients." Harvey clarified.

"Alright... I am sorry Harvey, I didn't know."

But Harvey ignored him and turned around to the other associates who were all eavesdropping by now.

"So who the hell is Gregory?" He shouted into the room. Most of the associates jerked suddenly and pretended to be focused on their work.

A nervous young man stood up. "I am Gregory. Gregory Boone."

Harvey walked over to him and held the file in front of his face.

"What were you thinking letting a high school kid do your work?"

Gregory shrugged his shoulders. "He asked me for work. And after he'd done such good work with the filing I thought he could handle that."

"You thought wrong. Don't shove off the least favorable work to others."

"I am sorry Sir."

Harvey put the file into the shredder machine next to the bullpen and walked away. With a nod he signaled Mike to come along.

-Suits-

"So what did I do wrong with those files Harvey?" Mike asked back at Harvey's office.

"Nothing," Harvey said as he sat down in his chair.

"So why did you shred it?"

"Because you just did that associates work for the day in merely two hours." Mike looked at Harvey confused.

"A day's work? Are you serious?"

"Not everyone has an eidetic memory." Harvey said. "But I agree those associates are idiots."

"But still why did you shred it? I mean I put some effort in it."

"Wasn't work for me," Harvey said briefly.

Harvey dropped a really big folder in front of Mike. "But this is. I want you to find a loophole on oral contracts. Have it done by the end of the day."

-Suits-

At the end of the day Mike had found a loophole and thus saved Harvey's case. The kid turned out to be a big help. He was a walking dictionary on law and he actually understood law. Yes, he was fourteen and the other day when Harvey had found him nearly dead on a mattress he didn't seem to be an emancipated young adult at all, but when it came to the law, Harvey felt like he was talking to an adult - an adult who went to college and aced his classes at Harvard law school.

Harvey was really satisfied. He had done good work today. Mike had done good work today. He wouldn't even have noticed that something was wrong if Donna hadn't stopped him on his way back to the office after a short coffee break.

"Harvey? Do you really thing you can keep a fourteen year old at a law firm after eight? He's been here for eleven hours now. He didn't even take a break. I even had to force him to eat at least a sandwich for lunch." Donna told him. She looked at him with scolding eyes. But Harvey knew she was right. Somewhere between his discussions about bypass law and contract law he had forgotten that Mike was a kid- a kid who was hospitalized with a high fever not too long ago on top of that.

"I will bring him home, Donna. You are right."

-Suits-

Harvey entered his office. Mike was still consumed by his work. Harvey's work to be exact.

"Kiddo, let's call it a day. You've done great work today, but let's go home."

Mike didn't react. He kept his eyes on the file. "Let me just finish this," he mumbled after a while.

"Your sister must think we abandoned her. Come on, let's go home." Suddenly Mike jumped up.

"Oh! My sister! I totally forgot about her! What time is it? I had to pick her up at five." In a panic Mike looked at his phone. It was the phone Harvey had given him a few weeks ago. "Why didn't her school call me? Harvey, I have to go, see you tomorrow."

Mike grabbed his coat and was nearly out of the office, when Harvey stopped him.

"Your sister is at my apartment; Ray picked her up on time and let her into the apartment. I made sure that he brought her some food, too. Everything is alright."

Mike seemed to calm down. But his face was still flushed.

Harvey put his hand on the kid's forehead.

"And your fever is back, hotshot. Why didn't you tell me you felt worse?"

"Because... I didn't..."

"Let's bring you home." Harvey said. He zipped up the kids coat and ruffled his hair. Luckily Donna had left early enough to not overhear the conversation.

-Suits-

Harvey and Mike agreed that Mike and his sister would stay at Harvey's apartment until the next weekend. Mike could work for Harvey and get better and Harvey wouldn't have to worry if Mike's health got worse without him knowing.

The week passed fast. Emmy made a mess out of Harvey's apartment, while Harvey had one of his most productive weeks with Mike at the office. He almost got used to the routine of being woken by Emmy, bringing her to school, working with Mike and spending the evenings in front of the TV with the kids watching cartoons. Usually Mike made dinner. It turned out that he was a great cook since he had learned a few things at the Korean restaurant.

Mike and Harvey worked through the first weekend after Mike got sick. They had to bring Emmy to the office too, since they couldn't leave her at the apartment all day. The office was pretty empty and Harvey was thankful for that because he wouldn't like to be asked by Louis, Jessica or Donna what those kids were doing at his office. As it turned out Emmy was a bit of a help too. Mike showed her how to file papers and Emmy did a good job for a few hours until she got bored and drew some pictures which Harvey had to put on the wall. Emmy complained that his office was too cold, but Harvey got her to agree that just one of her drawings was enough to make his office a nicer place. The rest of the drawings he would put on the fridge at home.

When he drove Mike back to his apartment on their last day on Friday, they didn't talk in the car. Harvey was driving because he usually let Ray go home early at the end of the week.

Mike was tense. Harvey knew that the kid wanted to leave, but he also knew that Mike had enjoyed the past few days. If he wasn't a kid Harvey would probably hire him immediately. Well, if he had a degree in law. Or maybe he would even hire him without a degree - if he was a twenty something, but not a kid.

But Mike was fourteen. He still had to go through school, college and law school. He would have to figure a lot of things out before he could start doing real work. The kid still wasn't through puberty. In the next few years he would fall in love for the first time, kiss someone, get rejected, and possibly sleep with someone. He would make a bunch of friends- good ones and bad ones. He would probably get drunk at some party, where he shouldn't have been in the first place, and he would meet people who would offer him drugs. He couldn't just skip all those years of high school and college because he was a genius. School might be boring to him, but socially he had so many things to learn.

Harvey wondered if Mike knew that. Sure, he had managed to somehow survive alone in New York, but he wasn't sure anymore if it was good for the children.

"So Mike, why don't you spend another night at my place," Harvey said suddenly.

"What? Why?" Mike asked surprised.

"Well, it's already dark outside. And tomorrow I wanted you to go through that one file again. Could you do that one last thing for me?" Why the hell was Harvey feeling like he was lying?

Mike shrugged his shoulders. "Yes, of course. I would really like to. But then we will go. I promise."

Harvey nodded. "Sure, kid." What the hell was Harvey supposed to do?


	8. Chapter 8

The next chaper!

Have fun reading it. A lot of thanks to my beta reader AoiLegends!

* * *

The next day Mike slept in. He had rarely slept through the whole morning - not because he was an early morning person but because he always had work to do.

He felt good after he woke up. His cold was almost gone. He still had a runny nose but other than that he felt great. He didn't know how to feel about leaving Harvey again. It had been nice for so many reasons. First of all, he loved working at the law firm, and he liked spending time with Harvey. He wasn't really bossy- well sometimes at work, but at home he was pretty relaxed. He let Mike and Emmy do whatever they wanted as long as it was appropriate for kids. Although Emmy was sometimes overwhelming, Harvey managed to keep calm. He was even amused by Emmy's temperament. Mike got the feeling that Harvey was even better with handling Emmy than he was.

And Emmy hadn't been that happy for a long time. Mike didn't want to, but they really had to go. Harvey was not their family. He was some nice guy who had taken care of them as long as Mike was sick. But other than that he was a man whose only concern was his work.

Mike knew that his sister would like to get adopted by Harvey. But he also knew that this was not going to happen. There was only one reason why a good-looking, rich guy had neither kids nor a wife - he didn't want to have them. He wouldn't just take some orphans in.

Then also Mike didn't want to be adopted. He didn't want to depend on anyone ever again. Because eventually he would get hurt again. He and his sister were better off alone.

So Mike was ready to finish the work Harvey wanted him to do and afterwards he would take his sister to the Korean restaurant. He would have to beg to get his job back because they had left without a word, but he would get the job the place back. He was probably the cheapest worker they could get.

Mike yawned as he entered the living room. He expected Harvey and his sister to be sitting on the couch watching television or Harvey to be already working on his cases in his pajamas, but instead they were sitting at the table. His sister was in her pajama, but Harvey was dressed in one of his suits for work. A third person was sitting with them. They had some files on the table and everyone looked pretty serious.

If his sister wasn't sitting with them, Mike would have thought that Harvey had a meeting with a client.

But this wasn't a client. The man Harvey was talking to was young. He was dressed casually. He didn't look like one of those wealthy clients Mike had met in the past few days.

"Oh, Mike. Finally. Mr. Specter has told me you have been sick. Sit down, we have some things to discuss." The man told him with a smile. And Mike knew that smile. This was the comforting and understanding smile he had seen so often after his parents died and then again after his grandmother passed away.

"I am Mr. Yorke, but you can call me Rob, I am..." he started but got interrupted by Mike.

"A social worker. I know. One can see that from a mile away. And you probably wanted to tell me that you are here to help me. Thank you, but I didn't ask for help."

Robs smile lost some of its confidence. Harvey glared angrily at Mike. But Mike only glared angrily back. Harvey had promised. He had promised to not call social services. Mike could feel his eyes fill with tears. Because he was angry... and because he felt betrayed.

"So Mike, Mr. Specter has told me that your legal guardian left you two alone and he is nowhere to be found. You have spent the past few days at Mr. Specter's place, am I right?" Rob wanted to know.

"Yes, that's about right." At least Harvey had left out that they were not innocent victims but actually had arranged the whole thing.

"Well, we will try to contact your legal guardian and we will call the police since he is a missing person. But even if we found him, you two will most likely not go back to him."

Mike could just ran away. As soon as they would leave the apartment they could just make a run for it. Mike looked at his sister. She was hugging a stuffed animal which Harvey had bought her the other day. He looked back at the social worker. How could Harvey have done this?

"The next step is to find someplace for you to stay temporarily. There are a few beds free at a children's home not far from here."

Mike wasn't really listening to the man anymore. But he was staring at Harvey. His face was cold.

Suddenly Mike turned to Harvey.

"How could you!" Mike shouted at Harvey. "You promised not to call social services!" Tears were running down Mike's cheeks.

Harvey didn't even blink. "I promised nothing. And I decided that you aren't old enough to live on your own. This is for the best."

"Oh... so you could just decide that about our life... because you are what... an adult?" Mike cried.

Harvey stood up too. He was tall... so much taller than Mike.

"You are god damn right because I am an adult. An adult who had to save your ass."

"After you had nearly killed me." Mike argued.

"Because you are riding through New York on a bike! And you ride it like a complete maniac!"

"But your light was red!"

"Was it? There are no security cameras, I checked, you lied." Harvey said.

"Still, my life is none of your business. You should have just let us leave."

"And what? Wait for another call? After you worked yourself to the ground... again? You are a kid, you can't take care of yourself and your sister."

Mike wanted to shout something at Harvey again, when his sister stopped him. "Mike! Harvey is right. We couldn't just keep on like this."

Mike looked down at his sister. "What do you mean? Everything was fine, wasn't it Emmy?"

"No, it wasn't!"

Mike got pale. What did his sister mean? He did everything for her? She had been unhappy?

"Mike, I mean you were great. You are right, I was never hungry, we had place to sleep, I had everything for school and I could take part in every school activity I wanted. I was fine, but you weren't. Mike you nearly died of a cold if it was not for Harvey." Emmy started to cry.

"I lost mum and dad and Grammy too, you know? I don't want to lose you." She sniffed a few times. "Even if that means that we can't live together anymore."

She stood up and hugged him. "Mike, you need a break too. Maybe we will find nice families." She looked Mike in the eyes. "Maybe we will find someone as nice as Harvey."

-Suits-

"Where is Louis?" Harvey said. "I need him to talk to our client since I have another meeting." Harvey was stressed. The past month he had worked a lot more than he usually did. He had also won quite a few cases. Maybe he wanted to distract himself from the Ross kids. It's been a month now since they had been at Harvey's place. After Emmy had explained to Mike that she actually wanted to go in the system, Mike had given up. He'd just slumped down in the chair and let the social service worker explain the whole process. Mike hadn't said another word to Harvey and only what was necessary to the social worker. He hasn't even said 'goodbye'.

"Louis has a vacation. He is away for the next two weeks." Donna explained.

"Why does he have a vacation? There is work to do!"

"Actually Harvey there isn't. I don't know why you are stressing yourself out that much but everything is running smoothly right now. And maybe you should take some time off too. You've been in this firm for more than ten hours every day for a month. I don't know what's going on with you, but I don't think that this is healthy." Donna said. There was some anger in her voice, but also concern. Harvey worked hard, but he hasn't worked that much since he had been an associate years ago.

"I don't need some time off." Harvey said as he walked into his office.

"You know in the past year Louis got married to Sheila and now he is adopting a child. Maybe you should move forward in your personal life too Harvey"

"I got my name on the door, he didn't. But what do you mean he adopted a child?" Harvey wanted to know. Ever since he had met the Ross children Harvey had read a lot about laws and regulations for adopting children. He needed to know what was going to happen to the kids.

"If you would care about your co-workers you would know. It's the only thing Louis has been talking about the past few days. Yesterday they adopted a little girl. You should see her! She is so adorable!"

"How old is she?"

"Ten." Donna said. Emmy was ten too. Why does he always think about those kids?

"Cute. What's her name?"

"Well, well, Harvey Specter cares!" Donna smiled widely.

Harvey shrugged his shoulders. "No, I don't."

"Her name is Emmy." Harvey's heart almost skipped a beat. Emmy? It had to be another girl. Harvey had talked to the social worker. He had said that he would try his best to get Mike and Emmy into the same family.

Donna looked at him suspiciously. "Are you alright, Harvey?"

"Yes, I am. Please reschedule the meeting to the afternoon."

-Suits-

After Louis returned Harvey tried not to talk to him. Because all Louis was talking about was the little girl. And the only thing Harvey could think about when he heard the name Emmy, was the little girl and her young brother who were somewhere in some family. He didn't want to think about them. But he worried. A lot. Not that he would admit that.

It was Saturday, Harvey was working again. Donna wasn't there, she had her weekends off. Harvey didn't expect anyone to knock on his office door. But he really did not expect to see Mike.

"Mike!" Harvey said. "What are you doing here?"

Mike didn't answer immediately. He looked even younger than before. His hair was longer and a bit messier. Did he get thinner? How was that even possible?

"Are you alright Mike?" Harvey asked concerned. He couldn't think why Mike would be here except if he needed help.

"Yes, I'm fine." Mike said. "I am here with my sister and Louis. You surely know it by now. Louis has adopted my sister."

Harvey looked at Mike at with surprise. Yes, Harvey would have known that if he hadn't avoided Louis the whole week.

"I wanted to say sorry Harvey." Mike started. "You were right, I couldn't give Emmy everything she needs. And Louis is great. Emmy really likes him. And I get to see her whenever I want to. Well, if my family lets me go."

Harvey was still studying Mike's appearance carefully. Maybe he only got thinner because he grew. But he didn't appear to be taller at all.

"So you have a family too?" Harvey said joyful. But Mike didn't seem to be that happy.

"Yes, though they are not adopting me. I am just staying with them. But it's better than staying at the children's home. I guess."

Something was wrong, Harvey could read that much. But couldn't exactly tell what it was.

"Why didn't Louis adopt you too?" Harvey wanted to know. Although Harvey wasn't sure if he liked the thought of Mike living with Louis.

Mike looked at him disbelievingly. "Why would he? I am not as cute and adorable as my sister."

Harvey smirked. "Your eidetic memory is pretty adorable. I bet Sheila loves you. She likes smart young people."

Mike rolled his eyes. "They don't know. The last thing I want is for somebody to adopt me because of my brains. And I doubt they would even if they knew. A little girl is enough work. They don't need a teenage boy who just got kicked out of school."

Harvey stood up. What did Mike just say?

"You got kicked out of school? Why?" Harvey wanted to know. His voice was a bit too loud and angry. But it didn't seem that Mike cared about Harvey being angry.

"I cheated on a test." Mike explained.

"You got kicked out of school for that?" Harvey said. He had cheated on test when he had been in middle school. It's not that much of a deal is it?

"Yes. Lost my scholarship and everything." Mike said. Harvey remembered the kid who he had hit with his car. Mike cared about school. Hell, the kid went to school with a broken foot. But that Mike right now didn't seem to care.

"Why did you even cheat? I thought you remember everything you read." Harvey said.

"None of your concern, is it? I just wanted to say sorry, that's all. You were right. Oh, and I told Emmy not to say anything to Louis about knowing you. I explained to her your 'Harvey-Specter-doesn't-care-policy'"

Mike turned around and walked away. Harvey briefly thought about following him and learning more about what the hell happened but he decided against it. In the end Louis would find out about his relation with Mike and he really didn't want to tell Louis why he cared about those kids.

* * *

I hope you liked it! Don't forget to review :) I will post the next chapter tomorrow.


	9. Chapter 9

Hi!

I am not sure if you liked my last chapter but I am kind of glad that I could shock you a bit.

Here is the chapter I promised.

* * *

Harvey kept thinking about Mike. He talked more to Louis because he hoped that he would maybe learn something about Mike. But Louis kept talking only about Emmy. He showed Harvey photos of Emmy's ballet lessons; he talked about her good grades at school and kept bragging about how smart she was. If Harvey asked how the brother was doing Louis just brushed it off and said that he was doing fine. Eventually Harvey started to believe that. Mike saw Emmy on regular basis and Louis would have noticed if something was wrong. Sure, the kid got kicked out of school, but he will do fine in any other school. He was smart. Nothing would change that. After a few months Harvey stopped thinking about Mike. At least, he wouldn't think about him too often.

"Harvey!" Louis entered Harvey's office. He had a few pieces of cake on a plate in his hand. "I really need a favor Harvey!"

"No." Harvey said without looking at Louis. His eyes were still glued on some papers.

"You don't even know what it is!"

"I don't care."

"Come on Harvey. I even have some cake. It's Emmy's birthday. I baked chocolate-nut cake but as it turns out Emmy is allergic to nuts. So I made a lemon cake for her and brought the other cake to the firm."

"Whatever it is, I don't have time."

"Come on, Harvey! It's Emmy's birthday and we are already late. Her friends will be waiting at the zoo."

"What is it, Louis? What do you want?" He looked up. His face clearly showed annoyance.

"I want you to tell her brother Mike that we already left and maybe you could ask Ray to drive him to the zoo. He has detention at school or something, I can't wait for him. But Emmy really wants him there. And I need you to give him this money for the zoo." Louis said. Louis put the cake on the coffee table.

"Okay."

"Come on Harvey please help me ou... what?"

"I will take care of it. Have fun with Emmy." Harvey said and went back to his work. Mike had detention? What the hell was going on with that kid?

-Suits-

Three hours later Mike arrived at the law firm. He was quite confused, when an associate told him to go to Harvey.

"Mike. There you are. How was detention?" Harvey asked as Mike entered his office. Mike only shrugged his shoulders. He didn't seem to be in a good mood. Well, nobody liked detention.

"Louis is already with Emmy at the zoo. He told me to let Ray drive you to there."

"You don't have to bother Ray. I have to be home in an hour anyway." Mike said. "Thank you Harvey. See you." He was already turning around to leave the office.

"Mike stop. If you miss the whole party, at least take some chocolate cake. I will call Louis. Maybe he can persuade your foster parents that you can come home later."

"He doesn't have a chance with them. But I am pretty hungry." He looked at the cake with wide eyes. "Can I?" He asked Harvey before he took a piece. The kid really was nothing but skin and bones.

"Sure, help yourself."

Mike sat down and took a piece. He ate it fast. Really fast like he hasn't eaten anything the whole day. Until he stopped abruptly.

"Harvey...?" Mike asked suddenly.

"Yes?" Harvey furrowed his brow.

"Are there by any chance hazel nuts in this cake?"

"Yes?" _...Emmy is allergic to nut..._

"Harv... allergic..." Mike was already having trouble breathing. "...ambulance."

-Suits-

Harvey walked nervously down the corridor of the hospital. Of course the kid didn't have an emergency set on him. Luckily some senior partner had a son with a nut allergy and he injected Mike with the Epi-Pen he always kept on him and thus probably saved the kid's life.

Finally after an hour of waiting at the hospital a grim-looking, young woman wearing a white lab coat went to Harvey.

"You are family of Mike Ross." The doctor asked him coldly.

Harvey nodded. He wasn't but if he told the truth about Mike he would probably learn nothing about the kid.

"Mike will be alright. He needs rest, but he is breathing fine now."

Harvey sighed in relief. He had nearly killed the kid for a second time.

"But we will have to call social services." The doctor said.

That caught Harvey attention again. "Social services, why?"

The doctor looked at Harvey with disgust. "There are clear signs of abuse on the child. He has bruises all over his body. Also he is badly malnourished. What kind of monster starves a child while wearing a thousand dollar suits?" She looked at Harvey's clothes.

Harvey felt nauseous. Abuse? Malnourished? Starved? How could he let that happen?

"Sir we are going to call the police and press charges."

"I didn't do that to him. I am not his legal guardian." Harvey explained. The doctor's face relaxed a bit.

"What kind of family member are you then?"

Harvey sighed. "I lied. I am no family to Mike Ross. I am a friend... and I am his lawyer." Harvey wouldn't let those people get away. They would pay for everything they did to Mike.

"Alright. We have to talk to the social services first before you can talk to...your client." The doctor said.

She looked at Harvey with sympathy. "And if you really are a friend to Mike, then you are exactly what he needs. We can fix his body, but fixing one's mind is much harder."

-Suits-

Harvey had talked on the phone with social services for a few hours. He went through a pile of paper work, but before the visiting hours at the hospital ended, he was finished.

"Mike! How are you?" Mike was pale. He looked so small in that hospital bed. And thin.

"Harvey, I am sorry that you had to bring me to the hospital. For a third time."

Harvey sat down next to Mike. "It has never really been your fault, Mike." He smiled at Mike and squeezed his hand.

"Yes, but I could have asked about the cake. I guess I was just too greedy."

Harvey shook his head. "It's not called greed, what you felt Mike. It's hunger. But yes, you should be more careful about what you eat. And you should carry an epi-pen with you at all times."

Mike nodded. "But usually it's not that bad. I just have some troubles breathing and start sweating. I don't lose consciousness."

"But you did this time. If it wasn't for Mr. Yates, you would have died. You couldn't breathe Mike."

Mike looked guilty. "My sister lost her epi-pen a year ago. I couldn't just buy a new one, so I gave her mine. Her allergy is worse than mine." Mike explained. Of course Mike would give his epi-pen to his sister. And Harvey doubted that Mike told the truth when he said that his sister's allergy is worse.

"So Mike, you don't have to stay overnight. The doctor gave an okay for your discharge. Get dressed; I will wait for you outside." Harvey said.

"Ehm... sure."

-Suits-

After a few minutes Mike was fully dressed in front of the hospital room. As they walked down the corridor a few people gave them weird looks. Probably because they weren't used to people dressed like Harvey. Or maybe because Mike's clothes looked like rags.

"Harvey, can you do me a favor." Mike asked out of breath. He obviously struggled with keeping Harvey's pace.

Harvey stopped. "Yes, what is it Mike?" Harvey wanted to know.

"Can you call my foster parents and tell them that it is not my fault that I am late."

Harvey studied Mike's face carefully. The kid was... scared.

"No, I will not." Harvey said coldly.

"Please, it's just one phone call... and don't mention that it was cake..."

"No."

Mike's eyes filled with tears.

"Please, I beg you... they will never believe me..."

"Oh, they will. I guess social services and some police officers are on their way to them right now."

"Wait, what? Why?" Mike wanted to know.

"You know exactly why. Do you think that the doctors would just ignore the bruises you have?"

Mike got paler. He looked a bit trapped. "It's not what it looks like. I just had a fight..."

"Don't. Don't try to protect those people." Harvey argued.

"But..."

"No." Harvey stopped him. He put his hands on Mike's shoulder.

"I am sorry. You shouldn't have gone through something like that. But you will never have to go back to those people. I will make sure of that. And they will pay. You have the best lawyer in New York by your side. You don't have to talk about it now, but don't say that you were fine with them."

"You will help me?" Mike said. He sniffed once more but then he finally smiled weakly.

"That's what I said kid."

Mike's smile grew wider.

"So where are we going now? ...some children's home?" Mike said grimly.

"Our first stop is that fantastic burger restaurant I know not far from here and second you will come home with me." Harvey explained.

"Wait what? I can come with you?" Mike said enthusiastically.

"Yes, I filled out the necessary papers an hour ago. Hell of a lot of work. Luckily your social worker was ready to bend some rules. Right now I can foster children in emergencies and you can come with me."

Mike smiled. "Thank you Harvey."

"You don't have to thank me. I should have done that months ago." He said as he started walking out of the hospital again. "And tomorrow you will help me fill out these." He gave Mike a pretty big folder. Mike opened it and read the title of the first paper.

_"Applying to adopt"_

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I hope you liked the chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

Here is a new chapter! And I got over 100 reviews! You guys are awesome! Really.

This chapter is a bit shorter, but I will try to update soon.

* * *

As soon as they were home, Mike went to sleep. He didn't talk a lot in the restaurant or on their way home. He just kind of stared at Harvey like he couldn't believe that he was real.

Harvey sat down on his coach and read the papers about how to apply to adopt a child. It wasn't easy, especially not as a bachelor who worked ten hours a day. But then again, Harvey was the best closer in New York. He would persuade the child services that he was the right person to adopt Mike.

But was he?

Hesitantly he took out his phone and phoned the one person who would know what to do.

"Donna?"

"Harvey, how is the kid? You didn't answer my calls; I was worried."

Only now Harvey noticed the five missed calls, two from Donna's desk, one from the senior partner who saved Mike by giving him the epi-pen and two others from Donna's private mobile.

"He's fine. Well, as fine as someone could be after nearly dying of cake." Harvey said in a bitter way.

"I am glad to hear that. I mean I really like the kid. It was a great week when he was working with you. But you still owe me an explanation. Why the hell did you lie to me about his parents? You told me you are doing them a favor. But Louis told me that they died years ago."

Harvey sighed. Briefly he explained the whole thing. He told her about how exactly he had met Mike; about how they went to the hospital the first time; how he found out where the kids live and how Mike ended up in the hospital the second time.

"Wow, if you think about all that you just told me, one could start thinking that you care." Donna joked.

"Donna," Harvey said unnerved. "I like the kid. He is smart; really smart. You should have seen the work he did for me. He's fourteen and he is already better than any associate at our firm. But he is in trouble. His new foster family was abusing him. And I didn't know. It's my fault that he got into the system in first place. I screwed him up."

Donna gulped.

"Abused? Are you sure?"

"Yes, the doctors told me. He is not going back to them."

"It's not your fault Harvey. You made the right call by calling social services." Donna tried to comfort him. But it didn't really help. He had this strange feeling in his gut.

"Where is Mike now?" Donna wanted to now.

"At my place. I kind of signed a few papers and now I am his foster parent."

Donna didn't say anything for a few seconds.

"You did what?" She yelled disbelievingly.

"That's the reason I called you. I think I need your help."

-Suits-

Donna didn't even need fifteen minutes to get to Harvey's place. She looked troubled as she stormed into his apartment.

"Where is he?" She asked looking around like she was expecting the kid to be hiding behind some furniture.

"He is sleeping in the guestroom." Harvey explained with a sigh.

Donna nodded and turned to Harvey. "Are you out of your mind?" She said in a low voice.

Harvey shrugged his shoulders. "What was I supposed to do? Leave him alone again?"

"Yes! I am sorry Harvey. One day you will be a great father, but right now you are not parent-material for a teenager who not only lost all of his family but was abused by his last foster parents. You have no idea into what you are getting yourself into," Donna said. She talked a bit too loud and Harvey looked worriedly to the guest room's door. They might have woken Mike up. Harvey sat down on the couch and poured himself some Scotch.

He took a sip before he explained in a much calmer voice: "I know Donna. I might not be the best choice for a teenager. But I might be the best choice for a genius teenager. I can support him and help him to get on the right path. I have the money to pay for the best education one can get."

Donna sat down next to him.

"So you are actually investing into an associate. Think about it. It's not a good reason to get so much involved into the kid's life." She argued. She looked at Harvey with concern. Harvey wondered if she was worried about Mike's life or actually Harvey's sanity at the moment.

"I like the kid. I enjoy his company. I really don't care if he wants to be a lawyer at our firm. He can go to any other firm or be a judge or something."

"And what if he doesn't want to study law at all?" Donna asked.

Mike not studying law? The kid could pass the bar right now.

"Well, he doesn't have to... he can be a doctor or an investment banker or something... if he likes to." He said.

Donna sighed. After a while she gave Harvey a commiserative smile.

"Maybe you are right. Maybe you are ready for this. And if you aren't, I will help you as much as I can." She took his hand and squeezed it.

Suddenly they heard someone clear his throat behind them.

"I am sorry if I am interrupting something." Mike said. He was wearing some of Harvey's gym clothes which were much too large for him. "But," he blushed a bit. "I am still hungry, can I eat something Harvey?"

Harvey raised his eyebrows. "You ate two burgers and half of mine three hours ago? Are you sure you are not gonna puke if you eat anything now."

"I don't think so." Mike said.

Harvey smiled a bit. With that appetite it wouldn't be hard for Mike to gain a few healthy pounds. He stood up and went to the kitchenette.

"No, you don't have to get up, I can get it myself." Mike interjected but Harvey ignored him. He got out some eggs and vegetables. He cut the vegetables in small pieces, put them in the pan and added the eggs later.

After a few minutes he gave Mike the vegetables with egg and two toasts on a plate. Mike sat down at the table.

Mike looked at Harvey with surprise. "I didn't know you could cook," he said after he started eating.

"It's a simple meal, not rocket science. I had to keep myself alive too," Harvey explained.

"Hi Donna by the way." Mike said with his mouth full. She smiled and sat down next to him.

"So how are you sweetie?" She wanted to stroke his hair but Mike jerked away in fear and jumped of the chair. For a few seconds he looked confused at Donna. Then he looked ashamed as he realized that he had totally misunderstood Donna's intentions.

"I'm sorry Donna. I am tired I guess." He tried to excuse his behavior. Both Harvey and Donna looked at him with worry.

"It's fine Mike. Just finish your meal and go back to bed." Harvey said.

Mike shook his head. "I guess I am not hungry after all. I will just go to bed. I am sorry for the trouble Harvey."

* * *

I hope you liked it!

:-)


	11. Chapter 11

Here comes another chapter! Have fun! Thanks to my beta reader AoiLegend.

* * *

"That's what I told you. It's not easy handling a teenager with his past." Donna remarked after Mike had disappeared into the guest room.

"You are the one who scared the kid, Donna." Harvey argued.

"I am sorry. I didn't know... I didn't think Harvey. Maybe you should talk to him." She looked sad. She never wanted to scare the poor kid.

"You are right. Maybe I should." Harvey said though he really didn't know what to say to him. Harvey wasn't good at talking about emotions. He could argue with clients or other lawyers and yell at associates to make them do their work better. He had a golden tongue. He could charm, fight and manipulate by only using words. But why the hell did his throat feel so tight when he thought about Mike and what had possibly happened to him.

"Or maybe you can talk to him?" Harvey asked.

"No Harvey, you have to. I am going home now. Tomorrow morning I will take the kid to the mall. He needs new clothes and some basic stuff."

Harvey entered the guest room. Mike wasn't sleeping, but sitting on his bed; the bedside lamp was on.

-Suits-

He rubbed at his red eyes when Harvey entered the room.

"Hey Mike." Harvey said. The situation felt awkward. Actually, Harvey barely knew the kid. How was she supposed to know what to say? Maybe Donna should handle this after all.

"Hey." Mike said. He seemed as irritated at the situation as Harvey.

"Are you alright?" Harvey asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Sure." Mike answered briefly. He was obviously lying. His eyes were enough proof that he had been crying a moment ago.

Harvey sat down on Mike's bed. "You know you can talk to me."

"I know."

Harvey sat there for a while. Mike didn't seem to be in the mood to tell him anything but just when Harvey decided that it would be better to leave him alone, Mike started to talk.

"You know Harvey, I wasn't scared of anything." He began. He smiled a bit. It was a bitter smile.

"After my parents died I knew that I had to protect my sister. So I stopped being scared. I wasn't scared of big guys at my school anymore, I wasn't scared of walking around at night time in the city, I wasn't afraid to break some rules, I wasn't afraid of having an allergic reaction..."

He seemed to be a bit embarrassed about the last one.

"I don't know what happened. Since my sister left to Louis, everything seems so freakin' scary. Ever since my foster parent... you know... was kind of... mean to me..." He squinted his eyes shut like he didn't want to remember.

"I got scared of Donna! Donna, who had always been so nice to me." He said in despair. Tears ran down his cheeks. "I couldn't protect my sister, I couldn't even protect myself. I got kicked out of school and I only get to see my sister every other week. I totally failed. And the whole world seems so scary!"

He sniffed a few times.

"Today I punched a teacher of mine just because I got startled when he touched my shoulder. I will probably get kicked out of school again."

He looked at Harvey with his big blue, teary eyes.

"I mean I disappointed everyone, my parents, my sister, teachers at school..."

Harvey was unsure what to do but then he suddenly embraced the kid into a hug. Briefly Harvey thought that he would scare the kid again, but he didn't. The kid just wrapped his arms around Harvey and buried his face into Harvey's shirt.

"You didn't disappoint anyone kid. Your sister wasn't disappointed, but she didn't want you to work yourself to the ground. And your teachers... they probably don't know the whole story, so whatever they think of you, they are wrong," Harvey explained while he brushed Mike's hair.

"And it's alright to be scared. There are scary things in this world. New York is a place where a kid should be scared at night, and you sure as hell should panic if you are only thinking about eating nuts. It's called self-preservation, not fear. So if you are scared of anything it's alright. Just talk to me. I can help."

Mike cried for a while. He needed a few minutes to calm down. Harvey wondered when someone other than his little sister had hugged the kid. After a while he freed himself out of Harvey's hug and smiled at the lawyer.

"Thank you Harvey." The kid said genuinely.

"You are welcome kid."

"Is Donna angry at me?" Mike asked worried. "I didn't want to hurt her feelings."

Harvey shook his head. "Of course she is not. She wouldn't be angry at you."

The kid seemed to relax even more.

"Can I maybe... sleep on the couch while you work? I kind of... would rather not be alone?"

"I will get a book and read in your room while you fall asleep, alright?" Harvey offered.

Mike grinned.

"What?" Harvey asked.

"It's the first time you didn't say 'guest room' but 'your room'."

-Suits-

"So, first we are going to pick your stuff up from the place of your previous foster parents." Harvey explained in the morning while Mike started eating breakfast. Harvey was relieved that the kid at least didn't seem to get any side-effects from the epinephrine yesterday.

Mike looked unhappily at Harvey.

"We don't need to. It's not like I own anything valuable." Mike said. It was obvious that he didn't want to go back to that place.

"Mike, I am sure you have some stuff you need. Your clothes, school stuff, books, games, anything really."

"I don't really have many clothes anyway. And I don't have personal stuff. I lost everything when we didn't return to the Korean restaurant. And I don't own any school stuff either." Mike briefly explained. He really didn't want to return to that place.

Harvey raised his eyebrows.

"You don't own any school stuff? Books, notebooks..?"

Mike shrugged his shoulders. "I don't need to. I read those books in the library my first day at my new school and remembered everything. And it's not like I need to take notes during class."

"What about homework?" Harvey wondered. "You surely need to write that down."

"If I know that the teacher wants to collect the homework I would write it down."

Harvey shook his head disbelievingly. "You are incredible kid. But anyway, I want you to have everything you need for school, so you will buy that with Donna too today."

Mike sighed and sunk into his chair. He knew that he couldn't argue with Harvey about that.

"And we will go to your place and pick the stuff up. No arguments." Harvey decided.

Mike gulped. "But you will be with me?"

"Yes, sure." Harvey smiled a bit. "We have to pick up the keys from your social worker and then we will get your things. Those people are in police custody."

-Suits-

Harvey could see why those people had been allowed to foster children. They had a nice house in the suburban area of New York with a garden. There was even a basketball hoop on the garage. It looked like the house of a normal, peaceful family, but Mike's face got paler as they approached the house.

"You are sure, they are not here?" Mike asked for a third time this morning.

"Yes, Mike. I guarantee you, they are not." He opened the door with the key they got from the social worker.

Even from the inside the house looked fine. They had a big living room combined with a clean kitchen area. The only thing that was wrong in the picture was a large empty bottle of cheap vodka that Harvey would never even consider drinking.

Mike's room was upstairs. He had shared his room with another boy. The family had taken care of five children. Two were their own and three were foster children - all about Mike's age. The room was pretty small for two boys, but what bothered Harvey was not the size of the room but the atmosphere. It was cold. No pictures on the wall, the book shelves was mostly empty and the room was only furnished with the basics. There were no comfortable armchairs or a couch, not even some extra pillows or blankets on the bed. This wasn't the room of kids. It was a room for guests. Guests which weren't welcome.

Mike took his rucksack and started to pack. The kid did not lie. He had nearly nothing. It only took him five minutes to pack.

"I'm finished." He said. He blushed a bit. He was obviously embarrassed about not having any possessions.

Harvey nodded. He was just about to turn around and walk out the door, when he noticed Mike's pillow was stained with dried blood. Harvey furrowed his brows.

"What happened there?" He asked.

Mike looked at him with panic. He turned even whiter. "I...just a nosebleed."

"Bullshit." Harvey stated. He took out his mobile phone and took a few pictures of the pillow.

"What are you doing?" Mike asked confused.

"Evidence."

"Come on Harvey. It was just a nose bleed. It happens." Mike tried to explain, but Harvey shook his head. He turned to Mike and put a hand on the kid's shoulder.

"Mike, I will not give you many rules, but rule number one is: you don't lie to me. First, I am your lawyer. I need to know exactly what happened so that those bastards get what they deserve. Second, I am your foster parent now. I can't help you if you lie to me and hide things."

Mike nodded slowly.

"So you promise you will never lie to me?" Harvey wanted to know.

"He hit my head." Mike explained suddenly.

"What?"

"It was the day I got kicked out of school. He beat me up and hit my head against the wall. It was a shallow wound but it bled like hell. I didn't even notice it. I went to sleep and woke up the next day a bit fuzzy and I had ruined the pillow."

Harvey looked at Mike sadly. Although he had asked about what happened, he realized he didn't actually want to know. He didn't want to know that the kid had suffered, because part of him thought that this was all his fault. But he had to know. Since the kid had survived living with those people, he sure as hell had to listen to his stories.

Harvey didn't know what to say to the kid and they didn't talk on the way out or in the car on the way home. Mike started to speak when they entered Harvey's apartment.

"I'm sorry Harvey." Mike said.

Harvey looked at Mike in confusion. What was the kid sorry about?

"I know I lied to you, but afterwards I said the truth. Please don't be angry." Mike tried to explain.

Harvey rolled his eyes. "Kid, I am not angry with you. You told me the truth and that's all that matters."

"But you are angry."

"I am not."

"I mean, I am sorry that I got kicked out of school. I worked hard. It was stupid to cheat on the test, I shouldn't have done it. If I hadn't, he wouldn't have hit me that hard. I screwed up. I kind of deserved it."

That's when Harvey realized that he was indeed angry. He felt like punching something or someone. Not just anyone, but that guy who had hit Mike. His Mike.

"Hell, no." Harvey shouted at Mike angrily. The kid shrugged in fear. "You didn't deserve any of this. And don't say that to me. Or to anyone. Don't say it to yourself. None of this is your fault. It is the fault of your foster parents. It's Louis' fault, he should have realized it ages ago. It is my fucking fault, because I didn't take you in before. You can blame anyone, but not yourself. You hear me kid?"

Mike nodded slowly.

"So you are not angry with me?" He asked.

"No, I am not."

"Can I hug you?" Mike wanted to know. His voice was very quiet like he didn't want Harvey to actually hear him. Harvey reminded himself to check the kid's birth certificate. Right now, he didn't look like a fourteen year old at all.

Harvey pulled Mike into a hug. Only now he noticed that the kid had been trembling the whole time.

-Suits-

Mike and Donna didn't go shopping. As it turned out Mike was too exhausted to go anywhere. Harvey said that was because Mike had nearly died the day before but Mike explained that it was a pretty common reaction after being injected by an Epi-Pen. Mike didn't like shopping anyway and he allowed Donna to buy him some essential stuff.

After five hours Donna returned from the mall and brought about ten bags back home.

"Do I look old?" She asked Harvey, who was working in the living room next to Mike who was reading a book. A law book of course. They both looked at her. They knew better than to make a joke about her looking old, thus they both shook their head.

"I will never buy you clothes again Mike. You have no idea how many people thought, that I was buying clothes for my son. Do I look like the mother of a fourteen year old? Some mothers started talking to me about their children. They talked about high school, college, sports..." She rolled her eyes. Harvey and Mike smiled with amusement.

"Well, it doesn't look like I need to go shopping for the next ten years." Mike said laughing and pointed to the bags. "I thought you were only buying some essentials."

"Those are essentials. Let me show you what I bought."

Mike argued that Donna had bought things that were too expensive. But Harvey didn't care. Mike wasn't going to run around with clothes from Walmart. Mike also tried to explain that he didn't need ten pairs of trousers, rather, two or three were enough. Again he lost that argument.

"You bought me suits? Are you serious?" Mike questioned when he looked in the last bag that Donna gave him.

"Well, I guessed you would want to visit Harvey at the office sometimes. And in those cases suits are appropriate."

"No, they are not." Mike stated. "I am fourteen! I don't wear suits!"

"Really?" Donna held the suits next to Mike. "But you would look adorable in that dark blue suit. I even bought a vest. You will look just like a mini-Harvey."

"Are you making fun of me? No way am I going to wear a three-piece suit!" Mike argued.

Harvey took one of the ties out of the shopping bag. It was baby blue. "And there's no way he's wearing skinny ties."

* * *

I hope you liked it. :-) I will post another chapter in the next few days.


	12. Chapter 12

A new chapter! Enjoy! Thanks for all the reviews!

And thanks to my beta reader AoiLegend.

* * *

The next day Harvey was working again in his office. In the morning he drove Mike to school. The kid didn't complain a lot, but Harvey noticed that he was unhappy. He didn't want Harvey to drive him to school because Mike thought he might get in trouble if they saw him arriving in Harvey's fancy car. It's not like his school was in the best district of New York. Nevertheless, Harvey drove him to school. He didn't let Mike argue with him.

When Harvey arrived at his office, a bit later than usual, Jessica Pearson was already sitting in his office sipping her morning coffee.

"Jessica, good morning!" Harvey greeted her with slight irritation. "What gives me the pleasure of your early visit? Is everything alright?"

Jessica put her coffee down on the table in front of her and studied Harvey for a few seconds.

"You tell me. How long have you been working for this firm Harvey?"

"Thirteen years next month." Harvey shrugged his shoulders. Where is she going with this?

"And how many pro-bono cases have you handled since then?"

"I don't know. A few every year." Harvey answered still clueless about her intentions.

"Well, that's not exactly true. You always brushed them of to some associates, even when you were an associate yourself. I remember that you always somehow got Louis to do you pro-bono cases, when you were both still sitting in the cubicles." Harvey smirked a bit at this memory.

"He was always good at those. I never let the firm lose any of the pro-bono cases. So what's the matter, Jessica? Are you here to scold me, a named partner, for not doing pro-bono cases? Fine, give me a pro-bono case. I will try to find a somewhat competent associate and make sure that he wins the case." Harvey sat down at his desk and opened his notebook. This was not the kind of thing he wanted to talk about first thing in the morning.

"No, Harvey I am not here to scold you. I am here because I want to know why I got a call today thanking me for you taking a pro-bono case about child abuse two days ago."

Harvey sighed. Why did she have to find out that fast?

"The kid nearly died of an allergic shock in my office. I felt bad for him. It's an easy win. The doctors have hard evidence; so do the police. Even our most stupid associate that Louis hired could win this case. It's no big deal." Harvey tried to brush the matter off. He sure as hell didn't want to talk about why he helped Mike. He wasn't sure for himself, so how was he supposed to explain to Jessica the reason behind his actions?

"So why don't you let it be handled by an associate?" Jessica still didn't let go of the matter.

"Look Jessica. I promised the kid that I would help him. You know me, I always keep my word."

Jessica narrowed her eyes.

"And all of this has nothing to do with the fact that Mike is the brother of Louis' little girl? It's not a trick to somehow get to Louis?"

That got Harvey a bit angry. "You really think that lowly of me? That I would use a case about child abuse to get to Louis?"

"I don't know Harvey. But I know that you have been behaving strangely ever since Louis started a family."

She probably meant the long hours and Harvey's bad mood for the past few months.

"That has nothing to do with Louis! Trust me. I'm not planning on harming Louis or the firm. I am just helping a kid in trouble. Why is that so hard to believe?"

Jessica stood up and moved to the door.

"I trust you Harvey. But if you don't tell me what the hell is going on with you, I will find out myself."

"Fine." Harvey shouted as Jessica left his office.

* * *

Harvey had just started working after his talk with Jessica when Louis entered his office. The day before, Harvey had already missed a day of work. Couldn't they just leave him alone?

"Harvey! Mr. Yates told me that Mike had an allergic shock the other day. He also told me that you went with him to the hospital. I really owe you. How is the kid? Do you know anything? I tried to call his family but nobody picked up," Louis asked, while obviously still chewing on something. "Oh, you want a cookie? I baked them with the kids after the zoo." Louis held out his hand with a few colorfully decorated cookies. Harvey shook his head and looked a bit disgusted at the cookies.

"You don't owe me anything. You owe Mike. The kid was abused by the people you call his 'family'. Right in front of your eyes the kid got hit on a daily basis and you didn't do a thing." One of the cookies nearly fell out of Louis' mouth. He went to Harvey's couch and sat down. His face got a few shades paler.

"I… I didn't…" Luis began, but Harvey interrupted him.

"You didn't what? Didn't know? You're god damn lawyer. It's practically in your job description to notice stuff like this." Harvey shouted.

They were quiet for a few seconds.

"How bad was it?" Louis asked. His voice was shaky. Harvey nearly felt bad for snapping at him.

"Bad." Harvey couldn't think about any better words.

"Mike never said anything. He was always smiling. He seemed happy." Louis explained confused.

Harvey let out a sigh. "The kid loves his sister. He didn't want to make her unhappy."

Louis sat there thinking for a time. His eyes got teary.

"Sheila and I have talked about it for a while now. Sheila likes Mike. She thinks that he is smarter than he makes us believe. And she really likes smart. We were thinking about adopting Mike too. There's nothing in the world that I could do to make Emmy happier than to bring her brother home to her. I just wish I had done it before. You are right about Mike. He would do anything for his sister. I should have seen this before." Louis explained.

Harvey's anger at Louis vanished. Suddenly he felt scared, scared that after finally after having Mike in his life, Louis would take him from him. Then only seconds later, Harvey felt sad and defeated as he realized that there was nothing in the world that he could do to make Mike choose living with him over living with Emmy.

"I…" Harvey started. "I am glad that you are planning to adopt Mike. The kid really needs a home."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Where is he right now?"

"With a foster family," Harvey answered leaving out the fact that he was actually his foster father.

"Is he alright there?"

"Yes."

"Okay, so Sheila and I have some time to organize everything."

"Yes, yes. Mike is safe there. Take your time."

Louis stood up. He still looked shell-shocked.

"Thanks, Harvey. You know, everybody here thinks that you are a bad guy, but actually you are one of the best guys I have ever met."

Usually Harvey would reply with a witty remark, but today he just stared at the floor and waited for Louis to leave him alone.

Mike would finally be able to be with his sister, get a nice family and have parents who were capable of providing him with the best education a young man could get. Harvey should be happy for him. Why the hell did he feel so depressed instead?

* * *

I hope you liked it. Probably not. I know you guys don't want Louis to adopt Mike.

The next chapter is almost finished too, so don't worry it will come soon.


	13. Chapter 13

You didn't have to wait for this chapter that long! It's a slow chapter too, but I hope you like it anyway. The next one will have some more action!

Thanks to my beta reader, who finished beta reading this chapter really, really fast.

* * *

Harvey didn't feel good when he left the office. To be honest, he was in a really bad mood. He left early to pick Mike up from school. Harvey leaving early today was probably a blessing to all of his co-workers and to the poor associate who had to do his paper work for today.

It was a good thing that Mike was going to live with Louis. It really was. And maybe if Harvey talked to Louis, he could spend some time with Mike anyway. No, that was not going to happen. It's not like he could tell Louis that he cared about Mike. The traffic was fine, even though it was rush hour. He was at Mike's school a few minutes before the bell rang.

"Harvey!" Mike complained after he got into Harvey's car. "I told you to meet me around the corner. Now all my class mates have seen your fancy car. I'll be lucky if I don't get beat up tomorrow."

Harvey looked at Mike and wondered if he was serious.

"Oh, come on. That guy's car over there doesn't look to bad either. It's almost as expensive as mine." Harvey argued and pointed to a black BMW which was apparently also waiting for a student.

"Yeah, that's Jimmy's dad. He's a drug dealer. At least that's what the rumors say. I don't think that Jimmy will get into trouble. Besides Jimmy is huge, he's the star of our football team."

"Yeah, maybe you should do some sports too or something. Then you wouldn't have to worry about getting beat up." Harvey grumbled as he started driving.

"What? So it's my fault now if I get bullied?" Mike asked incredulously and a little bit hurt.

"Well, actually it kind of is. Have you eaten the food Donna packed?" Harvey asked.

"Not all of it. I mean, I could survive a zombie apocalypse for a year with only the food that she packed me." Mike explained laughing.

"Well if you keep watching your figure like that, ballerina, you wouldn't be able to survive a zombie apocalypse for a day." Harvey said without any humor. Mike looked at Harvey a bit confused.

"What crawled up your ass and died?" Mike asked after a few seconds.

"Nothing." Harvey said angrily. Apparently he said it a bit too loud and harsh because Mike jerked away and pressed his side towards the car door like he wanted to sit as far away as possible from Harvey. Harvey considered apologizing, it wasn't the best idea to yell at the traumatized teenager, but he didn't. Instead he kept his eyes on the road and ignored Mike who was looking at Harvey suspiciously like he was trying to figure out what was going on.

Harvey was not as lucky as he was before and they got stuck in a traffic jam.

"God damn it." Harvey yelled and blasted the car horn a few times. Harvey sighed as he realized that it will probably take some time for the traffic to clear up again.

As Harvey looked over to Mike again, he noticed that Mike seemed to be really scared. He was pale and he looked like he was fighting back his tears. 'Harvey, you are an idiot.' He scolded himself.

"Look, Mike, I'm sorry…" Harvey started but got interrupted by Mike.

"You don't have to be sorry. Next time if you don't want to pick me up, just say so before. I'm fine with riding the bike. Really. I've done this for years. My Grammy didn't have a car and then when I was eleven, we ran out of money one week and we couldn't pay for new metro cards. So I biked both myself and my sister to school. Ever since then I rode the bike every day. At first my Grammy was really worried, but I promised her that I would always wear a helmet so she agreed in the end. It's really fine."

Harvey felt bad. There was so much wrong with what Mike just said. It was totally not fine for an eleven year old boy to bike through New York. He wasn't even sure if it was alright for a fourteen year old teenager. But his grandmother probably didn't have a choice. Running out of money with two kids didn't sound like fun either. And to top it all off, Mike thought he was the cause of Harvey's bad mood.

"Mike, I don't have a problem with driving you. It's fine. And even if I didn't have the time, I could have always asked Ray." Harvey explained. This time his voice was much calmer.

"Oh." Mike only answered and seemed to get confused again. "So what is it then?"

Harvey gave in. He actually had planned to tell Mike after they were home. But since they were stuck in traffic, he could just get it over with right now.

"Louis wants to adopt you." Harvey confessed.

"Oh." Mike answered again.

Harvey tried to figure out what Mike was thinking, but the fear in Mike's face was gone and his expression was neutral.

"I told him what the doctors told me and he offered it immediately. He said he was thinking about it anyway." Harvey said.

"You told him about what the doctors said?" Mike asked. His voice was a bit angry and shaky.

"I had to. Louis will help you, don't worry." Harvey hadn't thought about the fact that Mike maybe didn't want people to know what happened. He had just told Louis without asking Mike if that was alright.

"He would have found out anyway Mike. He is going to adopt you, he had to know."

"He will tell my sister. I don't want her to know."

"No, he won't. Why would he even tell her?"

"How should I now that? I mean you told Louis."

"Fine. I'm sorry. I'll call Louis later and tell him to keep it from Emmy."

Mike nodded and then went silent again. That wasn't really the reaction Harvey had imagined. It was big news that Louis wanted to adopt him. Harvey had expected him to be overjoyed or worried. Some part of him had hoped that Mike would be sad to leave him. But the kid didn't show any emotions at all.

When they arrived at Harvey's apartment they were still not talking. Mike was silent and followed Harvey into his apartment. Harvey had a bad feeling. Mike should talk to him. Should he just ask him if he wanted to talk? But somehow that seemed to be too difficult for the lawyer to do.

"Kid, I have this case which is giving me a headache, maybe you want to take a look at it?" Harvey offered before Mike could vanish into his room.

"No, I can't, I'm sorry. I have to do homework." Mike excused himself. Harvey raised a brow.

"You have to do homework? I thought you didn't need to do homework?" Harvey asked skeptically.

"I'm a high school student, Harvey. Even with an eidetic memory I need some time to write an essay about this stupid book we are reading in school. I'm sorry that I don't have time to do your work."

"Alright, alright. It's not like I need your help." Harvey said, but Mike was already gone. Harvey sighed. Maybe it was really for the best that Mike was going to Louis. Harvey really had no idea how to deal with a teenager.

* * *

Mike really didn't want to cry in front of Harvey again. Finally Mike got what he wanted since the first day he was separated from Emmy. He would be able to live with her again! But he didn't feel happy. He felt kind of abandoned again. He had spent the whole day in school thinking about how cool it would be to live with Harvey. How they would do cases every day, how they would eat dinner together every day and how Harvey would probably drag him to a baseball game even though Mike would complain. Mike felt really stupid now. He had even imagined how Harvey and he would take some really cool holidays somewhere sunny and how everybody would assume that Mike was Harvey's son. Yeah, Mike was really silly. He had believed Harvey when he had said that he wanted to adopt Mike. He should have never trusted him. Then he wouldn't feel this way right now. Then he would just be glad that he would be able to be with his sister.

Louis and Sheila weren't that bad after all. Mike gulped. But what if they actually didn't want to adopt Mike? What if they took him for a few days and then changed their minds just like Harvey did right now?

And what if they weren't good people after all? What if they were only nice to his sister? That was possible. His previous foster parents weren't mean to every kid in their family. They were nice to their own children and to the one younger girl.

Or maybe Mike would just screw it up. He would do something wrong and Louis and Sheila would just give him away. For Mike this was the most likely scenario. And his sister would be very angry with him for screwing up.

Mike actually tried to write his essay for school. What he had told Harvey before wasn't a complete lie. But he didn't really write anything. He was just staring at the paper. He couldn't focus at all.

Sometime later Harvey knocked on Mike's door and entered.

Mike really didn't want to be with Harvey anymore. He had trusted him and he had crushed his feelings. He didn't even ask if Mike wanted to live with Louis. He had probably just been relieved that he could break his promise without having to feel bad.

"Mike?" Harvey asked. "Are you alright?" Harvey went over to him and looked over Mike's shoulder at the empty paper.

"Yeah, it's a really difficult task." Mike lied.

"You need any help?" Harvey wanted to know, though he didn't sound like he believed what Mike had said.

"No, I just need time."

"Sure. I'm going to the office; I have to get some files. If you are hungry, you can order some pizza. I put some money on the table in the living room."

"Thanks."

* * *

Harvey really didn't need anything from the office. He just needed to clear his head. Maybe a walk to the office would help.

By now Harvey was pretty sure that Mike was upset. Harvey was still not sure why Mike was upset. He had thought that the kid would really like to live with his sister again. But as it seemed Mike also really liked the idea of living with Harvey. Harvey didn't really understand. He wasn't a great guy. He was a great lawyer, he was good at sports, he was good at persuading women to sleep with him, he was smart and confident, but he wasn't what the kid needed. Why couldn't Mike see that?

The walk to the office didn't help at all to clear his head, so Harvey ended up sitting in his office.

Since he was already there, he could just start working again. He left early today; he had some stuff to catch up on. It's not like Mike needed a babysitter at home.

He had met a few partners on their way, who had greeted him friendly, but they had seemed irritated that Harvey had returned. Harvey was known for working at odd hours, but not if everything was peaceful at the firm. Right now everything was running smooth and Harvey had brought a lot of wins to the firm lately.

Even Jessica had a concerned face, when she saw him at the office at about eleven, but she didn't comment.

It was about twelve, when Harvey's phone rang. It was Donna.

"Donna. Why are you calling? It's late." Harvey greeted her. He was still looking through some files.

"Yes, you are goddamn right, it is late. What are you doing at the office?"

Harvey looked around like he expected Donna to be somewhere near.

"How do you know that Donna?" He asked.

"I have a baby camera in your office."

"What?!" Harvey shouted exasperatedly.

"Calm down. I'm joking. Mrs. Jefferson told me."

"Who is Mrs. Jefferson?"

"The cleaning lady."

Harvey sighed. Why did he even ask? Donna knew everything somehow. But he still wasn't sure if she told the truth about the baby camera.

"I'm going home soon. Don't worry. Please don't use the cleaning service to spy on me anymore."

"Harvey. You have a teenager waiting for you at home. Do you really think it is a great idea to work until midnight?" Donna scolded him.

"He's fourteen and has lived on his own for over a year. I think he will survive." Harvey argued.

"I know that he will survive. But he needs you. You can't leave him alone for that long. He is still pretty unstable."

"He didn't seem to like having me around." Harvey muttered.

"What are you talking about?"

"After I told him that Louis wants to adopt him, he stopped talking to me. He went into his room to do some homework. I offered for him to work with me, but he refused." Harvey explained.

"Harvey, what are you talking about? Louis wants to adopt him?"

"Yes. After Louis heard the story about Mike being abused he offered immediately."

"Have you asked Mike what he wants?" Donna wondered.

"He wants to be adopted by Louis. I mean, he can be with his sister, that's what's most important to him." Harvey asserted.

"That's what Mike said?"

"Well, not exactly."

"Harvey, go home. Ask Mike what he really wants."

"But…"

"Ask him. And tell him how you feel."

"Why should I…"

"Go home, Harvey. Now."

* * *

Harvey took a cab home. He hoped that Mike wasn't already asleep. Donna was right. He should've asked Mike what he wanted. If Mike didn't want to live with Louis, that was fine with Harvey. Although Harvey would have to explain to Mike that living with Louis was actually the best decision.

His apartment was quiet and dark when Harvey came home.

Mike must have gone to sleep already. Should Harvey wake Mike up? This was kind of important. But still, it could wait until the morning.

Quietly, Harvey opened the door to Mike's room hoping that the kid was still reading or sleeping lightly enough to notice Harvey.

But there was no Mike. Harvey felt panic rising.

"Mike?" He shouted. He checked the bathroom, his room, Mike's room again and the balcony.

"Mike?!" But nobody answered.

Maybe he had gone out to get some food. Maybe he didn't want to order a pizza? Harvey dialed the phone which Donna had bought Mike the other day. The money which Harvey had left for the food was gone. Maybe the stupid kid just thought it was alright to go out to eat something? But it was already after midnight. Why would Mike do that?

Harvey's heart dropped when he found Mike's phone ringing in his school bag.

"Mike?!" He shouted again, hoping that the kid would somehow turn up.

Harvey phoned another number. His hands were shaking.

"Harvey? I was just about to go to sleep. Have you talked to Mike?"

"Donna, he is gone."

* * *

So I was thinking about ending this story soon. I have several endings in mind and one of them would end the story in a few chapters. I think then I would continue writing One-Shots in the universe of my story. What do you guys think?

Thanks for reading and thanks for all the reviews!


	14. Chapter 14

So this is my next chapter. It is really long. Hope this doesn't bother you.

I'm thanking my Beta Reader AoiLegend for still beta reading my stories after two years!

* * *

Donna needed half an hour to get to Harvey's place. She didn't have any make-up on and her long red hair was tied back into a pony tail. Donna knew that Harvey had never seen her like this, but Donna didn't care. Moreover she was pretty sure that Harvey didn't even notice it. He was a shade paler than normal when he opened the door. Two policemen were already inside and they seemed just about to leave.

"We will do everything we can Mr. Specter. The best thing you can do is to wait for him to return or to call. We will also contact the social worker who is responsible for his case. Contact us immediately if something changes." The police officer gave Harvey his calling card. Harvey just nodded absently. Donna had seen many sides of Harvey. She had seen him sad, stressed, pissed off… but never like this. He seemed to be shell-shocked.

"Thanks." Harvey muttered as he guided the officers to the door. Donna noticed that his arms were shaking as he closed the door.

"Harvey," Donna asked. "What happened?"

"He left, Donna. I don't know why. He just took off. He didn't leave a note or anything. He didn't take his phone." Harvey explained.

"First off, Harvey, you have to calm down. Sit down. You are shaking." Donna said. She put a hand on Harvey's shoulder, but he just shrugged it off.

"Calm down? Mike just went missing! It's New York and it's the middle of the night. Who knows what could happen to the kid!" Harvey yelled.

"Mike has lived in New York his whole life. He is a smart kid, nothing will happen to him." Donna tried to assure him.

"Yeah? If he is so smart, then why the hell did he go out in the middle of the night?" Harvey shouted. Donna didn't like to be yelled at, but she knew that it was only Harvey's misdirected anger. Harvey went to the door and put on his shoes and jacket.

"What do you think you are doing Harvey?"

"I'm going to find him." Harvey said.

"And how the hell are you going to do that?" Donna wanted to know.

"I will… I will check a few places. I can check the place where he has lived before."

"Harvey, he has no reason to go there. You heard what the policeman said, the best thing you can do is wait here." Donna explained.

"Donna, you don't understand, I have to do something. You stay here in case he comes back, okay?" Harvey said to her. His voice was desperate and there was this crazy look in his eyes which he always got when he was about to do something reckless. Donna knew Harvey well. She couldn't stop him now. Maybe running around in the city to search for Mike was a crazy thing to do, but at least it might help Harvey to calm down.

"Okay, Harvey. I'll wait for you and Mike. Come home if you don't find him, don't make me worry about you too." Donna pleaded. Harvey only nodded and ran out the door.

* * *

First Harvey checked all the fast food places around his apartment. He was hoping that Mike was peacefully eating a mid-night meal. Maybe he was reading a book while eating and forgot the time. But after he had checked Mike's five favorite restaurants, he gave up on this. So Harvey decided to just walk around and be on the lookout. Maybe Mike was just wandering in the city and got lost or something.

At some point Harvey lost track of time and he had no idea where he was anymore. He could say that he was lost, but he didn't worry about that. He still had his phone and could always check where he was.

He wasn't in some good part of the city anymore, that much he knew. Walking around in his expensive suit might not be the best idea at this place, but Harvey didn't worry. Unlike his light-weight kid, he could defend himself. Except of course if his attacker was behind him and hit him with something that felt like a pry bar…

Harvey felt a sharp pain flashing through his head before he was suddenly lying on the floor. He couldn't move, and someone took his phone and wallet out of his pocket. Harvey tried to protest, but somehow he couldn't say a single word. His brain just seemed to have forgotten how to speak. Then he noticed that his attacker was gone.

'Mike.' Harvey thought. 'I have to find you.' He tried to get up, but as soon as he moved, everything went black.

* * *

Donna waited. Harvey had promised to come back. And know he didn't even pick up his phone! That stubborn bastard!

At some point Donna decided, that she should take a nap. At least one of them should have a clear head in the morning. She was probably too troubled to sleep, but she should try. It was no good for Mike if they were both not thinking clearly because they were sleep deprived. Donna lied down on Harvey's couch for a while and actually fell asleep.

It was almost five o'clock when she woke up again. She got really worried when Harvey wasn't back yet. She tried to call his phone again but it went straight to his voicemail.

Tears built up in her eyes. Mike. Harvey. Where were they?

Donna wondered for a while what she should do and then she decided to call Louis. Emmy might actually know where Mike might be.

* * *

"Sir! Sir!" Somebody was yelling at him. "Are you alright?"

Harvey's eyelids felt heavy. His head was killing him. What the hell?

Harvey looked around him. He was lying on the street. A young man stood above him and looked at him with concern.

"Where am I?"

"7th Avenue. You are bleeding. You might have hit your head. I already called an ambulance, they will be here soon."

Harvey touched his head. His hair was wet. Blood.

"I think you got mugged." The young guy concluded. Harvey was still unsure where he was. It was nowhere near his firm or home. But shit! After a few seconds Harvey remembered. Mike!

Harvey tried to get up, but immediately fell down again. Damn it! Harvey felt like he was on a boat during a storm. The whole floor seemed to be moving.

"You should sit. You don't look too good." The man explained.

"What time is it?" Harvey asked.

"It's five in the morning. Don't worry the ambulance will be here soon."

Harvey finally managed to get up. He felt stiff after lying on the cold ground for hours.

"I need to get going." Harvey said. He checked his pockets. As expected, his wallet and phone were gone.

"I don't think so; you should wait for the ambulance. Man, don't you see, you left a pool of blood on the ground." The younger man pointed at the ground. He was right. There was a lot of blood.

"It's a head wound. They bleed a lot, doesn't mean it's dangerous." Harvey explained." Thanks for waking me up, but I can't wait for the ambulance. My son went missing last night and while I was looking for him out on the streets, I got mugged. I'm sorry, but can I borrow money for a cab? I really don't know where I am and I need to get home." Harvey asked. He took out one of his business cards. Luckily the thief didn't take them too. "My name is Harvey Specter, you can call my office and I will pay you back." Harvey rarely got into situations like this. He couldn't remember the last time he asked someone for a favor. But luckily this guy seemed to be trusting.

"I'll call you an uber, if that's alright." The guy offered.

"Yes, yes, that would be totally fine." Harvey said somehow relieved.

"You have some bad luck." The guy muttered as he held out the phone to Harvey so that he could type in his address. "I hope your son is alright."

Harvey hoped so too. Who knew what had happened to Mike last night?

"Thanks. The car will be here in a few minutes." Harvey said. "Call my office later today. My secretary will pay you back."

"It's fine. Don't worry about it. But are you sure that you shouldn't be taking the ambulance to the hospital? You're not really steady on your feet."

"I'm fine. But my son might not be." Harvey clarified. The guy seemed to understand. He waited with Harvey for the uber. The car was there shortly and Harvey got in.

Only then Harvey had noticed that he had called Mike his son. Harvey gulped. As much as Harvey wanted Mike to be his son, he wasn't. Harvey knew that. The kid probably had just run away from him.

But Harvey needed the kid to be safe. He would find him. He had to.

* * *

Harvey heard several voices in his apartment, when he came back. He hoped that Mike was back, but it wasn't Mike who was talking in his living room. There were Donna and Louis. Emmy was sitting on Louis' lap. She looked really tired and had reddish eyes. She had probably been crying.

Donna too had tears in her eyes.

"Harvey!" She shouted when she saw Harvey. "Where have you been? I was worried."

"I ran into some troubles." Harvey explained briefly. "What is Louis doing here?" Harvey already knew the answer. While he was driving home, he had thought about calling Louis too. Emmy might know something after all.

"I called him when you didn't come back this morning Harvey."

Harvey walked to the kitchenette and took some clean cloth out of one of the cupboards.

"I had just explained the whole situation to him."

"What do you mean the whole situation?"

"I mean the whole situation. From the day you hit Mike till today." Donna made clear.

Some part of Harvey was angry. He didn't want Louis to know everything. But right now it was the least of his worries what Louis would think about him. Harvey took the cloth, wet it, and put it on his head wound. He closed his eyes as the cold dulled some of the pain.

"Harvey! What the hell happened? You are bleeding." Donna screamed. Louis looked shocked and Emmy's eyes got really big.

"It's no big deal. Some as…"-Harvey remembered that little Emmy was in the room too, so no swearing-"some guy hit me with a pipe or something and mugged me."

"How is that not a big deal?" Donna jumped off the couch and took a look at the wound. "Ray should take you to the hospital. You might have a concussion. And it's really bleeding a lot."

"It's not too bad. We don't have time. We have to find Mike."

"Emmy?" Harvey went over to Louis and the girl. He kneeled down in front of her. "Have you any idea where Mike could be?"

Louis shook his head. "We already asked her. She doesn't know."

"Mike was upset. Is there a place where Mike would go when he was upset?"

Emmy shook her head. Her lips were trembling. She was about to cry again.

"He would only look through old photo albums. But they are gone. The people in the Korean restaurant threw all our stuff away."

"Maybe he would go to your old house where you lived with your parents?" Harvey guessed.

Emmy seemed to think about it for a while. "That might be possible."

Louis, Donna and Harvey all seemed to become a little more hopeful.

"Emmy, tell me the address and I will go check. You stay here with Louis and Donna."

Emmy nodded and Donna found the address in her phone and showed it to Harvey. Harvey took a look and got his car keys.

"What do you think you are doing Harvey?" Donna asked.

"I'm driving over there to check if Mike is there."

"No, you are not driving. You might have a concussion, you shouldn't be driving."

"Damn it, Donna. I don't care. I just want Mike back." Harvey yelled. Donna looked at him with surprise. Briefly Harvey wondered why she was looking like that, but then he noticed that his cheeks were wet. He was crying. Donna had seen him cry once after his father died, but Louis had never seen Harvey cry. But he didn't care. Louis could think whatever he wanted. He could tell the whole firm the next day that Harvey had cried a river over a runaway teenager. Harvey really couldn't care less.

"I'll drive. My car is only a block away. Donna can stay with Emmy." Louis offered.

Harvey threw the car keys to him. "No, drive my car; it's in the garage, that's faster."

* * *

It didn't take too long for Louis and Harvey to arrive at the kid's old place. It was a big building with a lot of apartments. But there was no sign of the young teenager.

Louis thought that he had known Harvey. He had thought that he knew all sides of him. After all, they had worked together for years and had known each other for even longer. They knew each other since the first day at Harvard, the day which Harvey had mocked him about still having pimples on his face.

But this Harvey right now was a person Louis didn't know. Harvey was trembling out of fear, anger and stress. He was crying. Harvey didn't even seem to know that he was doing it, or he didn't care.

He was paler than usual, and Louis couldn't tell if this was a reaction to stress or because the guy probably head a serious head wound.

"Harvey, he is not here." Louis explained after Harvey walked through all of the complex's floors for second time.

Harvey ignored him. Louis walked after him. Of course Louis was worried about Mike. He was fourteen and had spent the night on the street. But he wasn't as worried as Harvey. From the stories Donna had told them today he had learned that Mike was good at surviving and capable of taking care of himself. What Louis was actually more concerned about was Harvey. Harvey would go crazy or do something really stupid if they didn't find the kid soon.

After a while Harvey seemed to have understood that there was no Mike in this building. Harvey stormed out of the building. Louis had a hard time keeping up with him. Although Louis was only a year older than Harvey, the younger man was in a much better shape.

They were outside when Harvey ran over to a tree, put a hand on the tree to hold his balance and leaned over to empty his stomach.

"Harvey!" Louis ran over to the man. "What the hell?"

Harvey was done after a few more seconds. Louis gave him a tissue and the other lawyer took it thankfully.

"Harvey, if you feel sick, you have a concussion. It could be even more serious. I'll drive you to a hospital."

"No, you won't."

"Harvey! The kid is gone; we have no idea where he is. He probably doesn't even want to be found. The only thing we can do now is to wait."

That's when Louis' phone rang again. Harvey looked at Louis with hopeful eyes.

"Donna? Is he back?" Louis asked.

"No, he is not. But Emmy got another idea of where he might be." Donna explained. "She said that Mike might have gone to their parents' grave."

"What? How could he have gotten there? It's over an hour drive from New York. I've been there with Emmy once. But okay, we will check it."

* * *

After Harvey had left him to go to the office, Mike had decided to go out to eat something. But he really didn't have any appetite and he ended up just walking around. Then he was suddenly at the metro station looking for a ride out of the city. Mike couldn't even remember when he came up with the idea to go visit his parents' grave. It was far outside of New York, in a small town where his father grew up. His grandmother had decided that this was for the best, because it was much cheaper than the other places near where they lived. An old neighbor of his grandma had promised to look after the grave.

There were no trains headed in that direction and Mike honestly had no idea what bus would drive there in the middle of the night.

So Mike took a cab from the last metro station. The money he had wasn't enough for the whole drive to the graveyard but he managed to walk the last five miles.

He had spent quite a while staring at his parents' tombstones when Mike realized he had no idea how to get back to the city. He had forgotten his phone and he had no money left.

He wasn't even sure where he could go back to. Harvey was probably really, really angry with him. Maybe he would shove him off to Louis or another foster home since Mike wasn't sure that Louis really wanted to adopt him. Maybe it was for the best if Mike ran away for good. He could take a bus to the west coast. No way in hell that somebody would find him there. Mike wouldn't be able to go back to school, but it's not like he needed to go to school. He would find some kind of job, survive four years and then when he was eighteen, he could go back to New York, finish school and go to college. The only problem was that he couldn't abandon his sister.

Eventually Mike just fell asleep next to his parents' grave.

Mike was pretty stiff and cold when he woke up. His cloths where a bit wet. Maybe it hadn't been the best idea to sleep in grass. The whole ground was wet with morning dew.

He was hungry and tired. His legs hurt a bit because of the walking in the middle of the night.

"I miss you so much. I miss you every day. I don't understand anything anymore. What should I do?" Mike asked his parents. He was shaking. Maybe he was cold. Maybe he had low blood sugar. "I know you guys wouldn't want me to live on my own. But you've seen everything that happened. How could I ever trust somebody again?" Mike cried.

"Mike!" For a second Mike thought he imagined somebody yell his name.

"Mike!" Then he realized that Harvey was running towards him. How did the man find him? God, Mike was in a lot of trouble. Mike stood up. Harvey was panting when he finally got to Mike. Harvey had missed another day of work because of him. He would probably kill Mike. Mike stepped away from the man, but Harvey put his hands on Mike's shoulders. His hands very heavy and he was holding him so tight that it was starting to hurt Mike. There was no way that Mike could get away from Harvey now.

"Mike!" Harvey said another time. Mike couldn't really read Harvey's face. He looked tired. He actually looked like shit. He was pale, his eyes were red and the dark shadows under them made him look years older.

"Harvey, I'm sorry." Mike started. Harvey's grip on his shoulders was really hurting by now, "Don't be angry."

"Are you alright?" Harvey wanted to know.

"What?"

Harvey looked over Mike like he suspected something to be wrong. But when he didn't find anything wrong with him, he let go of his shoulders and pulled him into a hug.

"Harvey?" Mike whispered confused. Harvey wasn't angry?

Only now Mike realized how cold he really was. Harvey was warm. He had been running a moment ago. He was like a heater. Like a big, soft heater.

Shyly, Mike pulled his arms around Harvey too and buried his face into the man's coat. Maybe Harvey didn't want Mike to go after all? Mike started to cry, although he had promised himself not to cry in front of Harvey again. He closed his eyes and let Harvey hold most of his weight. Mike was really tired.

They had been standing like that for several minutes when Harvey released him from his hug.

He petted Mike's hair. "You alright Mike?"

Harvey was crying too. Mike couldn't believe it. He didn't even know that Harvey could cry. And Harvey had been crying because of him?

"I'm fine. I'm a bit cold, but that's it. I'm sorry Harvey. I didn't want you to drive all the way here."

"It's fine kid, but never do something like that again. Okay?"

Louis appeared behind Harvey.

"Louis what are you doing here?" Mike asked puzzled.

"Apparently I'm the driver. Let's go back to the city. Donna and Emmy are waiting." Louis suggested. Harvey only nodded and followed Louis back to the parking lot. He had a hand on Mike's shoulder like he was worried that the kid would disappear again.

Back in the car Harvey and Mike both sat down in the back seat. Louis looked over at them with a concerned face.

"Are you both fine?" He asked.

"I'm a bit cold." Mike answered. "Maybe you can turn the heat up?"

"Yeah, I can do that. Here is my coat Mike, you can cover yourself with it." Louis gave Mike his coat. Thankfully Mike took it, tucked himself in and relaxed a bit. Harvey on the other hand didn't seem to be really relaxed. His face showed that he was in pain. He was more laying than sitting.

"Harvey, and you?"

"What?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah sure, start driving." Harvey answered annoyed.

"Are you sick Harvey?" Mike wanted to know.

"He got mugged and someone cracked a pipe or something against his head. He has a concussion." Louis explained.

"What?"

"It's no big deal kid. Louis, just get us home so we can all take a nap. We need it."

* * *

The drive back to the city was quiet. Mike was the first one to fall asleep. Shortly after, Harvey must have fallen asleep too. He woke up with Mike leaning against him. Sleeping had helped soothe his headache and his sickness. He really didn't want to have to ask Louis to stop the car because he couldn't hold the contents of his stomach.

The car was parked and Louis had just turned off the engine.

"Are we home?" Harvey asked.

"No, we are in front of a hospital. You really need to get your head checked. Jessica would kill me if you died because you had some brain hemorrhage and I didn't get you to a hospital.

Harvey sighed. He really didn't want to go to the hospital, but Louis was probably right. At least he would get some pain meds to fight this awful headache.

"Are we home?" This time it was Mike who asked. He just woke up. He rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"No, Harvey should get checked out by a doctor first. I know a doctor in this hospital. I called him while you were sleeping. It won't take long."

Mike nodded and was about to get out of the car when Louis locked the doors.

"But before anyone is going anywhere, you two should talk." Louis ordered.

"What?" Harvey shouted. Mike only blinked confused.

"I mean it. We all only ended up in this mess because you two couldn't talk to each other. At least, that is what Donna said. So I will get out of the car and you two discuss everything. Before it's all resolved, I will not let you out of the car."

"My head is killing me Louis. I have a concussion. Can't we do that later?" Harvey tried to talk Louis out of it.

"You didn't complain about a headache before Harvey. You are doing this. It won't take long. Just talk." Louis said. He got out of the car and locked them both inside.

* * *

"You know it's illegal to lock children in a car." Mike complained as he tried to open the door.

"It's only illegal if you leave the child unsupervised." Harvey countered and sighed. His head was really killing him.

"So Mike, why did you run away?" Harvey started. He knew that Louis was right. They definitely should talk.

"I don't know. I wanted to be with my parents, I guess." Mike answered. Harvey sighed; that really didn't help him to understand what happened.

"So you thought it was a good idea to go there all by yourself in the middle of the night?"

"Well, yes. How did you get mugged Harvey?"

"As Louis said, I was walking through the streets when a guy hit me."

They went silent again. Harvey closed his eyes. He was really exhausted.

"You know," Mike explained "We could just tell Louis that we have talked, we don't really need to talk if you don't want to."

Harvey opened his eyes again and straightened up.

"No kid. He is right. We only ended up in this mess because we didn't talk to each other. I'm the grown-up so I'll start with my part of the story." Harvey concluded. "I was worried Mike. Like hell. I didn't know where you had been. In my head I had all these worst case scenarios. Don't do that to me again."

Mike frowned. "Why have you been worried Harvey?"

"Because I care about you kid. If something would have happened to you, I don't know… I don't think I could deal with it." Harvey's voice was raspy.

"You care about me?" Mike wondered.

"Kid, what on earth would let you think that I don't care about you? I mean I don't say it all the time, but everything I did till now was because I care about you." Harvey explained

Mike gulped audibly. "Really?"

"Yes, really."

"Thanks."

"So it's your turn. What the hell made you go out in the middle of the night?"

"I… I was scared." Mike confessed.

"What have you been scared about?"

"I'm scared of living with Louis. What if I screw it up?" Mike asked.

Harvey was almost laughing at that. That was what the kid had been worried about?

"You won't screw it up kid."

"How do you know? What if Louis changes his mind and will not adopt me after all. What if I get into the system again? I don't want that."

"He will not change his mind like that." Harvey assured him.

"But you did. I trusted you and you changed your mind. I mean that's fine. It's better that way, if you don't want to have me around. I don't want to live with someone who doesn't want me. But why should I trust Louis? I really can't."

Harvey was shocked. That was what Mike was thinking? That Harvey didn't want him?

"Mike you got that totally wrong. I would still adopt you. Really, nothing would make me happier then this but I thought that you want to live with your sister."

"You would still adopt me?" Mike asked.

"Yes kid. I would."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am very sure."

Mike seemed to think about that for a while.

"Would it make me a bad brother if I decided to live with you and not with Louis?"

* * *

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. And if you want to make me happy, give me some review!

I will update soon!


	15. Chapter 15

So, here is a new update. Enjoy!

* * *

Mike was sitting in the waiting room with Louis. Harvey had apparently been unconscious for over an hour after he got hit. Louis got really angry because Harvey hadn't told him or Donna about that. Louis was pacing and making Mike dizzy.

"Do you think Harvey is fine?" Mike asked.

Louis turned to Mike. "It's Harvey. Nobody has a thicker skull than him."

"They are taking quite long, aren't they?" Mike wondered.

"I think that's normal. They have to do a CT-Scan and everything."

"Did you really mean it when you told Harvey that you would adopt me?" Mike asked not very loud. For a moment Mike thought that Louis didn't even hear him.

But suddenly Louis stopped pacing and sat down next to Mike.

"Of course I meant it Mike."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why would you adopt me?"

Louis didn't answer immediately, he thought about it for a while. Then he put a hand on Mike's shoulder and turned the kid towards him so that he could look him in the eye. "For starters, you are a good kid. You might be a bit stubborn and too smart for your own good, but you really are a good kid. You deserve a family. And I'm building my own family. See, I got wonderful wife, a lovely daughter, and if you want to be the last missing peace in that constellation, I would gladly welcome you in my house." Louis answered.

"You are not only saying that because of Emmy?"

Louis smiled a bit. "Mike, Emmy would be overjoyed if you came to live with us. But I'm not doing this because of Emmy. You are not some pet I'm adopting to make her happy. I genuinely would like you to be part of my family."

Mike still felt uncertain. Adults always had their way of making everything sound so great. Lawyers were especially good at that.

"You know Louis, I know that I should accept your offer and live with my sister, but…"

Louis grinned, but he somehow still looked sad.

"But Harvey."

"Yeah." Mike admitted.

Louis sighed. "Mike, I've known Harvey for over a decade. If you had asked me two days ago if he could offer his home to anyone, I would have laughed in your face. Sure Harvey is reliable and competent, but also unemotional and uncaring. There are actually rumors in the office about him being a psychopath. But today I learned something new about Harvey. Harvey cares. And for some funny reason he cares about you."

"So you think I should stay with Harvey?" Mike asked hoping that he finally had the right answer to his question, but Louis shook his head.

"Kid, it doesn't matter what I think. I can't tell you if you will be happy with Harvey. I can't promise you that you will be happy with me and Sheila. But still you have to make the decision and only you can do that."

Mike stared at the floor for some time. Harvey or Emmy? Harvey or Louis? Harvey? Emmy? Why was this so difficult?

And why was he feeling dizzy? He couldn't blame it on Louis pacing anymore. He leaned against the opposite wall. Harvey or Louis? He was getting a really bad headache.

"Mike, are you alright?" Louis suddenly asked standing directly in front of Mike. "Your cheeks are flushed."

"Hm?"

Louis put a hand on his forehead. "You got a fever. It's no wonder after spending the night outside."

Now that he thought about it, he wasn't cold anymore but rather really hot.

"You wait here; I'll try to find you a doctor." Louis explained and left.

Five minutes later, Mike realized that he couldn't wait anymore. He stood up and ran.

* * *

"What do you mean he disappeared?" Harvey shouted. He was sitting in a wheelchair because the nurse had insisted. She had just wheeled him into the corridor where Louis and Mike were waiting, but the kid wasn't there.

"He had a fever and I wanted to get him a doctor. When I came back he wasn't there." Louis explained. His voice was filled with worry.

"So you are telling me that Mike has a fever and disappeared just like that? Again?!" Harvey yelled.

"Please, Mr. Specter, calm down. This is a hospital and the doctor said you should avoid stress for a while." The nurse tried to quieten him. But Harvey jumped out of the wheelchair and wouldn't let the poor nurse argue.

"We have to find him." Harvey said with determination.

"And how? I checked everywhere, every damn toilet and the cafeteria. He is probably lost somewhere in this hospital. The nurses will find him. You should rest and wait." Louis said and tried to press Harvey back into the wheelchair, but Harvey shoved Louis away.

"How long?" Harvey wanted to know.

"Well, almost two hours now. I already called Donna; he didn't go back home either."

Just as Harvey thought he was going to lose his mind, Mike came running in their direction. Harvey sighed in relief and fell back into the wheelchair.

"This kid is going to be the death of me." Harvey muttered.

"Harvey!" Mike's shout was hoarse. He was obviously getting sick. "How are you?"

"Fine, no thanks to you. I told you to not run away like that anymore." Harvey scolded him.

"I promise this will be the last time." Mike assured him. He was out of breath. What the hell did the kid do during the past two hours? He had a stack of papers in his hands.

"Harvey, you really want to adopt me?" Mike asked again.

"I'm not sure kid. I think I got about twenty new grey hairs since yesterday and I like my hair."

Mike looked at Harvey with uncertainty.

"Mike, it's a joke. Yes, I want to adopt you…if you want it." Harvey reaffirmed him.

"Then, before we do anything else, sign this." Mike requested. He held out the papers in his hands.

Harvey took the papers and read through them.

"These are the adoption papers I got. How did you get them? I took them to work with me yesterday." Harvey wondered and looked at Mike with a raised brow.

"There is an internet café next to the hospital. I read the papers, remember? I just reproduced them and filled everything out for you."

Harvey went through the papers. The kid could have fooled him. Even the font was exactly the same as the original papers.

"You just reproduced it?" Louis questioned.

"The kid has a photographic memory Louis. Don't act too surprised, the kid already thinks he's smarter than us." Harvey explained while checking everything Mike had written.

"That's because I am." Mike countered.

Harvey looked at him with an evil smile. "I haven't signed anything yet, kid. You better be nice and humble before I change my mind."

This time Mike understood that Harvey was joking. "Look at yourself, Harvey. You want to sign this more than I want you to." Mike said.

Harvey laughed and relaxed a bit. "Yeah, I really want it. But I want you to trust me. I will not change my mind whether I sign it now or later." Harvey rolled his wheelchair nearer to Mike and took Mikes hands into his.

"Mike, I'm a lawyer. As much as I like to have contracts and as much as I would advise any client of mine to get every promise written on paper, I don't want you to think that a piece of paper could change anything. You have to trust me for the next few years. For the rest of your life actually. If you can't trust me till tomorrow, you should ask yourself if this is the right decision."

Mike gulped. "I trust you, but…" His bottom lip was trembling.

"There is no but. You can trust me."

"But why won't you just sign?" Mike shouted tears in his eyes.

Harvey smirked. "I have a concussion and I'm drugged up. Anything I sign now is invalid anyway. It's not better than any oral promise I give you now. I'm actually disappointed Mike. Even Louis' associates would know better than to make someone who has a concussion sign anything."

"Didn't think of that." Mike agreed.

"To his excuse," the nurse said, while she put a hand on Mike's forehead "He is running a fever. I know you have been here for hours already. I will find a doctor who will take a quick look at Mike so you don't have to spend even more time here. You all look exhausted. You all stay here. She turned to the kid. "You heard me Mike? No running away."

* * *

Jessica Pearson rarely left work early. She never left early without a good reason. But today she thought she had one good reason or maybe even a few good reasons.

The security of the apartment complex where Harvey was living remembered her and let her through without asking what she wanted.

She had a key to Harvey's apartment, she had made a deal with Donna to get the key, but she rang the bell regardless. Someone was home, she could hear several voices.

Donna was the one to open the door. "Jessica." She said surprised.

Jessica stepped into Harvey's apartment. For a second she thought she was dreaming. Something was really wrong with the picture she saw.

Louis was sitting next to Harvey's dining table. He had a lot of papers spread out and was working. In Harvey's apartment.

Harvey on the other hand was not working. He was lying on his couch, dressed casually in a white t-shirt. She knew that was what Harvey wore to sleep. Next to him sat Emmy, Louis' daughter. She was holding some children's book and it looked like she was reading it to Harvey.

On the other side of the couch was another kid sleeping. Mike Ross. Jessica had never actually seen him, but she just assumed that this was Mike. Besides, he looked a lot like his sister.

He was wearing one of Harvey's old Harvard hoodies which was much too large for him.

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Jessica, what are you doing here?" Harvey asked looking up from the book Emmy was holding in front of him.

"What am I doing here? First of all, you didn't show up for work this morning. I didn't think much of it, but then Donna calls and tells me that Harvey got a concussion and that Louis isn't coming either because he is working from home." Jessica started but was interrupted by Harvey.

"Keep it quiet; Mike's sleeping. The kid is sick."

Jessica let out an annoyed breath, but continued with a quieter voice. "Then when I went to Harvey's office because I needed some files. I couldn't reach you, Harvey, so I helped myself. I hope you don't mind. I found the files, but not only them. In Harvey's top drawer were some adoption papers. Since Harvey didn't pick up his phone, I decided to come over." Jessica continued her story. "Anybody care to explain what the hell is going on?"

"You want the short or the long version?" Mike asked tiredly. He had just woken up.

"I want an explanation."

"Okay fine. Harvey hit me with his car, then he saved my life, then he lied to me and got me and my sister put into the system. My sister got adopted by Louis, I didn't. I ate a piece of cake with nuts in Harvey's office and nearly died again. Harvey promised to adopt me, and then he said that Louis would adopt me. I got confused and ran away. Harvey got mugged and hit with a pipe while looking for me. Louis and Harvey found me after a while. We spent most of the afternoon in the hospital. Harvey will be fine, but isn't allowed to work, read or watch television for a week. Emmy offered to read to him so he won't get bored. And I got the flu or something." Mike briefly explained.

Jessica narrowed her eyes. "And how the hell is that an explanation?"

Mike shrugged his shoulders, coughed and closed his eyes again. "Maybe Emmy can explain it better."

Emmy was just about to say something when Jessica interrupted. "No, that's fine. I think I just need some time to understand."

She went over and sat down on an armchair.

"Are you alright Harvey?" She asked concerned. "Getting mugged isn't something one can shrug off easily."

"It's fine. I barely remember anything. Donna already called my bank and bought a new phone. But Mike is right, I can't work right now. I can't read anything without getting a headache."

"That's fine. Take as much time as you need." Jessica said. She didn't believe Harvey when he said that he was fine. He wasn't the kind of guy who would admit that he was scared or didn't feel well. She would have to keep an eye on him.

She looked over at Mike who was sleeping again. He was snoring a bit because his nose was stuffy.

"Is he fine?" Jessica asked concerned. She really hadn't understood a lot of the kid's babble, but apparently he recently got hit by car, nearly died, nearly died again and then finally got sick. Not to mention that Jessica knew he had been abused by his previous foster family.

"He will be. It's just the flu." Harvey said, but that was not what Jessica meant and she knew that Harvey knew that.

"Are you staying for dinner?" Donna interrupted. "I was just about to order some Chinese for all of us."

Jessica got up. "You are not going to eat fast food. The kid is sick and Harvey should eat some real food too."

This time Louis answered. "I know, Jessica. I don't want them to eat junk food either, but I really don't have time for cooking. I'm meeting this client tomorrow and I've spent the whole day looking for Mike and waiting at the hospital. I've got work to catch up on."

"And the doctor told me not to move around in the house," Harvey excused himself.

"And I will not start cooking for my boss." Donna argued. "It'll give the wrong impression. Besides, I'm still busy rescheduling everything Harvey is going to miss the next week."

"I can't cook." Emmy explained sounding awfully guilty.

"They don't want me to cook." Mike added without opening his eyes. "They said they don't want my germs in their food." He sniffled like he wanted to make it a point.

"Harvey do you have anything edible here?" Jessica asked.

"I've got some bagels, if you think that's better than Chinese."

Jessica sighed. "Remember, this is a one-time thing, but I'll go buy some groceries and cook you some vegetable soup. There's an organic food shop downstairs, isn't there?"

"Yes, there is." Mike answered. "But I would rather eat bagels than vegetable soup."

"And that's the reason why you are sick." Jessica concluded.

Mike opened his mouth to reply, but he got kicked by Harvey. "Don't argue with Jessica. You will lose. You are not ready for that fight. Yet."

"Vegetable soup's fine." Mike grumbled unhappily.

Harvey smiled as the kid snuggled against a pillow and drifted off to sleep again. Jessica didn't have a particular soft spot for kids, but she had to admit both of the Ross kids were damn cute. Nobody could argue that Emmy wasn't adorable. She had big, blond curls and a chubby, beautiful baby face. One day she would be a stunning beauty. But Mike also made her feel the need to protect him. Somehow, Jessica understood why Harvey acted the way he did.

She grinned as she left Harvey's apartment. This was going to be interesting. Although later she would make sure to ask Harvey for a better explanation than the odd one that the kid had given her.

-THE END

* * *

So what do you think? I hope you liked it!

I will continue the story in several one-shots. I have a few ideas on my own, but if you have any suggestions for one-shots, I will gladly take them.

And really a lot of thanks to my beta reader AoiLegend. Without her I doubt that so many would have been able to enjoy my story.


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